Hungary is set to introduce three ‘crisis’ taxes, one of which will be targeted at telcos, in order to ensure it meets a deficit target of 3.8% of its GDP.
According to BBJ, the telco tax is likely to generate HUF61 billion (€221.3 million) for the budget a year in the period 2010-12.
The move is likely to be opposed by the EU, with Jonathan Todd, a spokesman for the European Digital Agenda Commissioner Neelie Kroes, saying that such extraordinary taxes can only be used to cover the cost of regulating the industry.
He added that EC had already started proceedings against France and Spain for also imposing taxes on telcos.
Although the new tax in Hungary will impact on the incumbent telco Magyar Telekom, which is a key player in the country’s cable, DTH and IPTV sectors, it is at this stage unclear to what extent it will also affect other areas in the TV industry.