Mihály Varga, minister of national economy of Hungary has hinted budget reforms for the following years at an economic conference on Monday. According to media calculations the plans might cover budget cuts in the region of 1700 billion HUF, therefore reports have labelled Varga’s proposal as austerity measures, which might “equal the size of the infamous Bokros package of the mid-1990s.” Since there are no governmental plans to raise taxes, the expenditures of the state shall be reduced or the economic growth shall increase rapidly. Brussels also expects Hungary to keep the budget deficit under 3 percent of the GDP.
Varga has told that the Hungarian government targets three main goals for the future: keeping the budget gap on the EU standard, reducing the state debt as much as possible and decreasing the rate of redistribution from 50 to 45 percent. The reforms will be introduced step by step in the framework of a three-years program. It could mean an impact of 500 million HUF on next year’s budget. Mihály Varga also spoke about the governmental intentions of breaking down black economy and expanding legal employment.
Details of the reforms have not been revealed yet, the Hungarian Parliament will discuss the plans in line with the budget proposal for fiscal year 2015 during the November and December sessions. According to media speculations PM Viktor Orbán prepares to announce radical reforms following the local government elections to be held on 12th of October. The plans could affect various kinds of governmental policies, including education, health care and public administration.
sources: index.hu, hvg.hu photo: nol.hu