The government announced further elements of the action plan to stimulate the economy.
From 1 July, a price cap on electricity will apply in individual sectors of the economy. This applies to electricity contracts that were fixed at fixed prices with terms of one or two years at the end of last year among the panic on the international markets. The price cap will be set at 200 euros/MWh net from 1 July, instead of 250-320 euros in the contracts. The measure affects more than 5,000 companies in the manufacturing industry, logistics and tourism. In exchange, the government expects these companies to increase production capacity and not to raise prices this year. The Hungarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MKIK) would supervise compliance.
The second measure is about the SZÉP card for employees. The maximum amount of the fringe benefit with favorable tax treatment, currently HUF 450,000 (EUR 1,216), will be temporarily increased by 200,000 HUF (EUR 540) between 1 August and 31 December. The card can then also be used to buy groceries in retail stores.
As a third point, the turnover-based special tax of those pharmaceutical companies that invest more money in R+D or in their capacities will be reduced from 40% to 20%.