Orbán cabinet: Hundreds of thousands of employees would suffer wage cut under left-wing government

A large tax hike proposed by the Socialists would likely result in a wage cut for hundreds of thousands of people and job losses for tens of thousands, András Tállai, the deputy finance minister, told daily pro-government Magyar Nemzet.

Tállai was commenting on a recent article by Socialist politician Imre Szekeres in daily Népszava who said his party rejected tax cuts proposed by other opposition parties.

Szekeres, a former defence minister, criticised government’s halving of the business tax, and he also advocated for the 15.5 percent rate of social contribution tax paid by businesses to be raised to 18.5 percent. This, he argued, would protect payments into the health-care system as well as protecting pensions.

Tállai noted that

in 2016 representatives of the government, trade unions and businesses signed a multi-year wage agreement which resulted in wage increases offset by the state reducing employment taxes, from 27 percent to 15.5 percent.