The Prime Minister promised total exemption from income tax for those under 25; the budget deficit at the end of the year was even more pronounced; Rising food prices have raised inflation. This is hvg.hu’s weekly economic summary.

Those under the age of 25 will receive a full exemption from income tax from 2022 at the latest, announced Viktor Orbán. This seems like a perfect campaign stunt: it can sell well while being a fairly cheap measure, it can cost the budget between € 130,000 and € 150,000 million, as there are few young workers, only 280,000, and they are earning the worst.

Of course, it is not just a politically motivated aspect of the decision. Youth employment really needs to be supported, and your exemption from the PIT may heat up wage increases a bit across the national economy. Fidesz has not been able to achieve a significant improvement in the indicators of the labor market of people under 25 years of age, now here is the opportunity.

Inflation was 3.3 percent in 2020, one of the highest in the EU, the Central Statistical Office reported. Food prices rose the most, 7.2 percent, and falling fuel prices pushed the indicator back a bit.

But the CSO didn’t just publish data on this. For example, it was reported that in November, with a 93 percent drop in November, Hungarian tourism collapsed for the second time in a year, which is not a huge surprise, as the epidemic prohibited the government from accepting anyone. in the accommodation except for those who came to work. At the same time, the construction industry was beginning to catch up, outperforming the previous year. Although industrial production stopped, it was at a higher level than the previous year, and it appears that car manufacturers, vehicle parts manufacturers, and battery factories have successfully transitioned to the way of working to comply with epidemiological standards.

The 2020 budget deficit was originally planned by the government at one percent, instead it will be 8 to 9 percent, so that the public debt will not only decrease but will increase to 80 percent. The central budget deficit is HUF 4,953.5 billion, announced the Ministry of Finance.

Crisis here or there, the usual dispersion of December was not far behind this time either. In December 2020 alone, the central budget deficit reached 2,250,500 million HUF.

Image of the week: Gödöllő Castle, one of those donated by the government.

Tesla’s share price rose to a record $ 816 per share, bringing the company’s share value above Facebook for the first time. Tesla’s market value has grown 700 percent in one year, more than the next nine top automakers on the list combined. Elon Musk’s wealth could already exceed $ 188 billion (55 billion guilders), so Jeff Bezos is no longer the richest man in the world.

The big question, of course, is whether they are all balloons. There is no reassuring answer to this right now. Michael Burry, who recognized long before the 2008 crash that mortgage-backed securities will do enormous damage, now warned that Tesla could suffer a similar fate. However, there are many factors that indicate that Tesla is not a balloon. The company can raise capital at a negative cost of capital, which is a great advantage over other automakers as they can expand their production capabilities almost indefinitely. In addition, worldwide electric car sales are expected to grow enormously.

The fate of several classic places in the party district is questionable after Viktor Orbán recommended that we settle in the current framework until there is enough vaccine. The theme has already been decided by various actors, and instead of party recommendations, you can find familiar placements among real estate listings.

“The circumstances do not change, the situation worsens. State aid does not help, most of the time it is better for the employer to send employees on leave without pay and somehow put money in their pocket ”, said the owner of one of the popular bars in Budapest. Others have reported that the government has extended the sector’s tax and contribution exemptions, as well as wage subsidies only sufficient for a short time.

Last year, a subsidiary of Szerencsejáték Zrt., Which operates with public funds, first donated HUF 140 million to the Fitbalance sporting event, which can be linked to Cecília Rogán, and then another HUF 70 million, it turned out. Overall, this is almost exactly one and a half times the 2019 grant amount.

For both amounts, Digital Minds Kft. Is the contractor, the same company that previously contracted with MTVA for the beauty contest entitled La Belleza de Hungary, which can also be linked to Cecília Rogán, who was lost in 2020. We searched MTVA for see if they had signed a contract or paid any money (registration started), but the public media did not respond to our request.

We have prepared a comprehensive list of the most problematic railway lines in Hungary in 2020. Half a year ago, the advantage of the Budapest – Miskolc – Sátoraljaújhely line seemed minor, but there were so many problems on the Budapest – Záhony line at the end of the year that it jumped to first place in the last days of December.

It is also part of the whole truth that the train should not be treated as a horror at all, because almost a third of the country’s rail lines had no problems in 2020. Most of the errors were concentrated in just over a dozen Lines, of course, almost without exception, came from the busiest.



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They'll be caught up in the epidemic, but the Orbans are already wasting money in the 2022 election



Zoltán Farkas
hvg360

The Orbán government raised public debt to a new peak in defense of Covid, leaving almost as much burden on its successor, perhaps alone, as it had inherited in 2010.

Fidesz is giving the price of a stadium to young workers before the elections



Gábor Kovács
Economy

The cheap measure is the PIT-free of young people, because there are few young employees, only 280 thousand, and they earn the worst. In the parliamentary electoral campaign, however, it is a well-sold measure. If the exemption turns into bands, as promised, Fidesz will essentially throw the idea of ​​a one-key PIT in the trash.