Tax €0,49/Gigabyte on internet traffic proposed by Hungary
The taxation of gigabytes transmitted on the Internet is included in the list of proposed tax measures for 2015 set by the Hungarian government before its parliament on Tuesday. The Finance Minister estimates that the measure will generate annual revenues of many millions of forints, specifically 20 billion (65.29 million euros).
The tax bill includes a provision that imposes a tax of 150 forints per gigabyte of traffic (€0.49/GB), although it allows those subject to the tax—i.e., telecommunications companies—to be exempt from additional taxes based on turnover. The conservative government of Victor Orbán has also in the past imposed special taxes on banking transactions, the retail sector and telecommunications, jeopardising, as Reuters notes, the revenues of each sector and discouraging potential foreign investors.
The Finance Minister estimates that the measure will boost state revenues by 20 trillion forints. However, the measurements show that the amount to be collected will be greater than 175 billion forints (<571 billion euros), since in 2013 1 trillion gigabytes were transferred via the Internet to Hungary.
In the meantime, the news about imposing a tax on internet traffic has sparked the anger of subscribers, who fear that the tax will ultimately affect them since ISPs will pass it on to the end consumer. Moreover, many are organizing through social networks to protest before the vote on the controversial bill on Sunday, October 26.
In June, a «black» appeared on televisions and front pages as a reaction to a tax on the media.
