Government Expands Unique Tax Reduction Program for Mothers

After the cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Gergely Gulyás, Minister in charge of the Prime Minister’s Office, and Government Spokesperson Eszter Vitályos, held their usual weekly government press briefing on Thursday. Yesterday, the cabinet discussed the details of the previously announced margin regulation, the war in Ukraine, as well as the extension of the recently announced tax reduction program for mothers.

At yesterday’s meeting, the government reviewed the provisions of the price margin regulation that will come into force next Monday, and will be monitored from the second half of the week, Gergely Gulyás said, outlining the government’s decision.

We see that today, especially in the food industry and in food chains, retailers are working with extremely high profit margins, but they differ extremely widely.

In some cases it is over forty, sixty, in some cases a hundred percent, and in others it is less than ten percent,” he explained.

Controls will not only cover the products affected by the regulation, but the prices of all products, precisely so that if traders try to compensate for losses suffered elsewhere, the government will intervene there too, the minister added.

Similar measures have been taken in Macedonia, Greece, and Romania, with even stricter rules in Croatia,

he said.

He stressed that they did not want a war with traders, but expected the measure to curb price rises. The measure is expected to be in place until the end of May.

The government also reviewed the situation of the war in Ukraine and assessed the changes that have taken place thanks to Donald Trump, Gulyás noted. On the ceasefire, he said that the proposal had been accepted by Ukraine and by the President of the European Commission. He remarked that

last year, at the beginning of the Hungarian EU Presidency, the Hungarian Prime Minister made the exact same proposal after his summer peace mission.

“If everyone had done as we are doing now, we could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Those who rejected this proposal last July and welcome this one now are still guilty of murder,” he said.

The minister added that the European Commission President wants to “make Ukraine’s accession to the EU arbitrary” at the expense of those who would join on merit, as “the Western Balkan countries have been waiting for years to join.” He said that Ukraine’s accession could lead to the loss of EU resources, the destruction of agriculture, significant food security risks, threats to jobs, pensions, and health risks. The government has approved a referendum on Ukraine’s accession to the EU, he said, adding that “we are convinced that it is for the people of Hungary to decide.”

In response to a journalist’s question, he confirmed that

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to visit Hungary before Easter, but that more information will be given later.

Following the tax cuts announced earlier, the government has adopted a further tax cut proposal, under which

from January 1, 2026, mothers under 30 raising one child will not have to pay personal income tax,

Eszter Vitályos announced. She reiterated that the government is introducing the biggest tax reduction program in Europe in the coming period. Earlier, it was decided to introduce a lifetime income tax exemption for mothers of two or more children.

Via Magyar Nemzet, Featured image: Pixabay