{"id":14694,"date":"2026-04-29T15:04:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T12:04:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/?p=14694"},"modified":"2026-04-29T15:04:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T12:04:15","slug":"eu-to-sue-hungary-at-european-court-of-justice-over-retail-tax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/eu-to-sue-hungary-at-european-court-of-justice-over-retail-tax\/","title":{"rendered":"EU to sue Hungary at European Court of Justice over retail tax"},"content":{"rendered":"

The European Commission plans to refer Hungary to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) this week as part of an ongoing dispute over the country\u2019s retail tax.<\/p>\n

According to the Financial Times, which cited<\/a><\/span> two sources familiar with the matter, the Commission has finalized its decision to bring the tax issue before the judiciary.<\/p>\n

Representatives of the Tisza Party, which recently secured an electoral victory in Hungary, had previously stated their readiness to phase out the taxes gradually. However, the Financial Times noted that this move from Brussels could result in the cancellation of a meeting between Peter Magyar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which was expected to take place on Tuesday, April 29.<\/p>\n

The report characterized the retail tax in Hungary as a fundamental element of the “economic philosophy” of outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Initially introduced in 2010, the tax was abolished after several years but was reinstated during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

Under the current system, where tax rates are increased progressively, the largest retail chains pay a tax of 4.5% based on their turnover.<\/p>\n

Representatives of the retail sector have complained that the collected tax effectively reduces their profits to zero. Among these companies is Austria-based Spar, which has accused the Hungarian government of violating European Union law.<\/p>\n

“Taking the case against Hungary’s retail tax regime to court would be a key step in fighting illegal restrictions on retail trade,” Spar CEO Hans Reisch told the newspaper. “Discriminatory restrictions like this tax are driving us into losses.”<\/p>\n

Additional information from Financial Times sources indicated that Magyar intended to use his meeting with Von der Leyen to discuss the possibility of transferring a portion of post-pandemic recovery funds to the Hungarian National Development Bank.<\/p>\n

During Orban\u2019s premiership, the allocation of approximately \u20ac30 billion earmarked for Hungary was frozen. As of spring 2026, approximately \u20ac17 billion of these resources remains blocked.<\/p>\n

The primary reasons for the freezing of these funds include allegations against the Orban government regarding rule-of-law violations, departures from democratic norms, and the restriction of media and judicial freedoms. The EU has also expressed concerns regarding high levels of corruption and a lack of transparency in public procurement.<\/p>\n

Following his electoral victory, Magyar emphasized that the billions of euros in EU funds rightfully belong to the Hungarian people and that these resources are essential for the development of the Hungarian economy. While Magyar acknowledged that the consequences of the outgoing cabinet’s errors would not disappear overnight, he stated that his team is seeking solutions rather than excuses.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The European Commission plans to refer Hungary to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) this week as part of an ongoing dispute over the country\u2019s retail tax. According to the Financial Times, which cited two sources familiar with the matter, the Commission has finalized its decision to bring the tax issue before the judiciary. Representatives […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14695,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[18276,18270,2518,9492,302,18273,18275,778,17992,18274,18271,5147,18272,17993,2011,777],"class_list":["post-14694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","tag-democratic-norms","tag-ecj","tag-european-commission","tag-european-court-of-justice","tag-financial-times","tag-hans-reisch","tag-hungarian-national-development-bank","tag-hungary","tag-peter-magyar","tag-recovery-funds","tag-retail-tax","tag-rule-of-law","tag-spar","tag-tisza-party","tag-ursula-von-der-leyen","tag-viktor-orban"],"yoast_head":"\nEU to sue Hungary at European Court of Justice over retail tax - Harici<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The European Commission will sue Hungary at the ECJ this week over a retail tax that critics say violates EU law and wipes out profits.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/harici.com.tr\/en\/eu-to-sue-hungary-at-european-court-of-justice-over-retail-tax\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"EU to sue Hungary at European Court of Justice over retail tax - 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