The Government is setting up a workgroup to negotiate with the authorities in Switzerland in order to recover unpaid taxes, Minister of State heading the Prime Minister's Office János Lázár said on Wednesday at a press conference held together with Government Spokesperson András Giró-Szász. According to an analysis prepared by the Ministry of National Economy, the amount of Hungarian income stored in offshore accounts is around HUF 1 trillion, but may even reach HUF 2 trillion (EUR 6.7bn).

Last year, approximately HUF 67 billion was transferred back to Hungary, which with a 10% tax resulted in HUF 6.7 billion in revenues. The tax amnesty ended on January 1, 2013 and the Government is working on ways to whiten Hungarian capital, the Government Spokesperson stated.

He pointed out that there are similar on-going debates regarding taxing incomes in foreign banks in Austria, Germany and the United Kingdom. Austria, for example, has set a target of recovering 12-15 billion euros, in light of which a 3-3.5 billion euro amount might also be realistic in the case of Hungary. The Hungarian Government plans to levy such deposits with a comprehensive 35% income tax, the Spokesperson highlighted.

The Prime Minister’s Office and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and National Economy have been appointed the task of recovering HUF 1,000 billion (EUR 3.4 bn). First, the Swiss Government will be contacted, in addition to which other European countries such as Austria or Cyprus could also be approached in order to acquire all necessary information related to Hungarian deposits, Minister of State Lázár told journalists in the break of a cabinet session. Talking about deposits related to criminal activities, he stated that Switzerland has always been cooperative, showing their dedication to transparency.

(The Prime Minister's Office)