The Prime Minister held talks with Olaf Scholz and Angela Merkel.Continue reading
The Hungarian government wants to create favorable conditions for foreign investment, according to the Foreign Minister. German business leaders spoke positively at a forum in Berlin, but some criticized the extra profit tax.
“Hungary must continue to provide the most competitive most competitive investment climate in Europe in taxation and other fields in Europe,” Péter Szijjártó, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, told a forum on German-Hungarian economic relations in Berlin on Monday.
He explained that the Hungarian government continues to reject the idea of the global minimum tax, which would bring about a six percentage point increase in Hungary’s corporate tax rate.
Thomas Spannagl, CEO of Schwenk Zement, said they have been active in Hungary for decades and were “very happy” until the introduction of the extra profit tax. This burden has a “direct and serious negative” impact on the company, already threatening its financial stability, Spannagl explained, adding that the fact that importers are not subject to such a tax makes their situation even more difficult.
Philipp Haussmann, head of the Ost-Auschuss der Deutschen Wirtschaft stressed that the government must take the concerns of German companies in sectors classified as strategic seriously, and pay attention to EU law.
Hans-Peter Kemser, head of the BMW plant under construction in Debrecen, stressed that the Eastern Hungarian city had all the conditions to build and operate the most modern plant of the German car manufacturer. As he said, “the future of BMW begins in Debrecen.”
Szijjártó added that Hungary is the flagship in the revolutionary transformation of the automotive industry, of which Debrecen is the best example, as not only will electric BMWs be produced in the city, but also the batteries needed to run electric cars, thanks to the largest ever domestic investment, the development of the Chinese company CATL.
Featured photo via Facebook/Szijjártó Péter