Index – National – The gift sometimes returns

Oddly enough, especially at times like this, around Christmas, but all gifts are also a contract, which is created between the donor and the gifted. Since contracts can be made not only in writing, but also verbally or by implied conduct, a gift contract is often concluded by someone who accepts the gift. However, the donation of the property must be in writing. Fortunately, in other cases, the Civil Code does not require that the gift contract be in writing.

When available

Once the gift is made, there is a situation where the gift can be claimed. According to the law, it can be claimed in the following cases:

1. if, in the meantime, the donor’s circumstances change to such an extent that he needs the previously given gift for his subsistence;
2. if the recipient (or a relative living with him) commits a serious offense to the detriment of the donor or a close relative; obsession
3. if the donor’s assumption about the gift has failed (such as a gift given in the hope of an expected marriage, but the wedding is lost).

In some cases, however, it cannot be claimed even then. So, especially when

• if the gift or value replaced by it no longer exists at the time the offense was committed;
• whether the donor has forgiven the injury; obsession
• if the gift is the usual amount.

A standard rate gift his judgment, like much of the law, is relative. It is affected, for example, by the financial situation of the parties, since the usual rate in a rich family and in a poorer family is different. As a general line of law, judicial practice no longer considers the gift of a car to be a standard gift.

Exemption rules

At first it may seem rude that, in the case of a gift, the recipient should, at least as a general rule, pay a fee. The general gift tax rate is 18 percent of net worth, while for home ownership it is 9 percent. Fortunately, there are several exceptions to the main rule. For example, tax free:

• gift between upline relatives and spouses;
• the donation of movable property with a turnover value less than 150,000 HUF (it is not harmful to know that the money is considered movable, so your donation is only tax-free up to 150,000 HUF, provided that no document has been presented in this regard );
• donation of land suitable for the construction of a residential house, provided that the donor builds a residential house on the property within 4 years and the usable area of ​​the constructed residential building reaches at least 10 percent of the specified maximum buildable area in the urban plan.

And what about the tax on certain defined benefits that do not qualify as fringe benefits (Section 70 of the Personal Income Tax Law)? These include, among others, the so-called small value gift which can be administered once a year. Such a gift is a product or service with a value that does not exceed 10 percent of the minimum wage (16 100 HUF), after which the taxpayer must pay the tax.

From the Statue of Liberty to Dutch tulips

It is not just people who are gifting each other. Donations at the state level, for example, are part of diplomatic protocol. Most countries precisely regulate how much a gift can be given and accepted. In the United States, according to a law passed in 1906, the president can only keep a gift that is not worth more than fifty dollars, otherwise the gift will become the property of the United States.

Every year since 1947, Norway has sent a pine tree over twenty meters high to London, which is erected in Trafalgar Square at Christmas. The tree is an expression of gratitude to Great Britain for providing aid during the Nazi occupation.

The Netherlands sends twenty thousand tulip bulbs to Canada every year, so in 1940, when the Nazis invaded the country, the Dutch royal family was admitted until the end of the war.

Heads of State memorabilia auctioned

Here, heads of state auction gifts of representation received during their tenure for charitable purposes. The line was inaugurated by Árpád Göncz, who has been in office for ten years, who offered 241 memorabilia to the foundation after the end of his term. According to the contemporary Index report, the collection included paintings, sculptures, coins, plaques, small sculptures, reliefs, vases and plates, but before the auction, museums could also choose from the items.

Regarding the gifting practices of ministries, members of the government can give up to 100,000 florins to their partners during bilateral negotiations. As many wallets as there are customs. For example, the Ministry of Agriculture only gives gifts to heads of foreign delegations. If the head of the delegation is a minister, he may receive a kind of hungaricum worth fifty thousand florins. The upper limit is 60,000 guilders in the Ministry of Innovation and Technology, and 100,000 guilders in the more generous Prime Minister’s office.

There is also order of acceptance.

One of the most important rules for business gifts at the end of the year is that the gift and greeting card must reach the recipient by December 31st. Otherwise, the business partner may think that the remaining gifts have been forgotten or worse yet.

– advises protocol expert Violet Greek.

The different companies and institutions usually organize them in regulations the order of acceptance of gifts. At Semmelweis University, for example, an 18-page Chancellery resolution governs the acceptance process for real estate, cash, and even works of art down to the smallest detail. The purpose of the regulations is nothing more than “Establish a system of acceptance conditions and procedures to be followed to meet the requirements of good management”. According to the Chancellor’s decision, the relevant drug supply rules allow ambulatory and hospital care institutions to receive donated drugs. But public donations and so-called usufruct agreements are also gifts. Under the latter, the lender transfers a specific item (such as a medical instrument) to the health care institution free of charge for temporary use.

Public donation as such

Many people think that there is not much to do with public donation either. Well, they think very badly. It is already suspicious that the concept of public donation is defined by the VAT Law. Not to mention, there are (tax) benefits to public donations, so controlling implementation and subsidies still represents a significant “net expense” for companies. As the public donation does not qualify as a supply of goods or services for consideration, it is not subject to VAT.

Nowadays, more and more cases are being concluded by companies called permanent donation contracts, since this implies a tax advantage not of twenty but of forty percent if all the parameters prescribed by law are met. In practical terms, this means that the contract must be in writing, only the monetary donation is considered permanent, and the highest tax credit can only be claimed if it is granted by the donor for at least three years, at least once a year, in the same amount or increasing. If any parameter is violated, the resulting tax credit cannot be taken into account.

A taorendszer (offering part of the corporate tax for specific purposes) It started in 2011 and can currently be offered for two purposes: filmmaking and spectator team sports (football, handball, basketball, water polo, hockey and volleyball). Corporate taxpayers can bid up to 80 percent of their tax advance. In ten years, for example, corporate taxpayers have offered more than HUF 300 billion to finance football.

What does Jesus bring?

At the end of the summary of the gift giving, we leave the thoughts of the academic Vilmos Csányi, who ingeniously carries out the frustration of parents for Christmas gifts:

When parents feel they need to give their little one some kind of gift right now, I notice that the onset of this feeling follows an annual rhythm, probably on a hormonal and genetic basis, so when the feeling takes hold, usually a few weeks before Christmas, parents select a variety of harmful delicacies, such as Christmas sweets, chocolate figures, poppy seed bagels and many toys also made of harmful substances, but they are not given to the child immediately, but are hidden (for a time even hide why, a mystery). . The need to give, of course, is already so strong in adults that they begin to talk about it with the little ones long before it is given. But they don’t say I bought you exciting gifts, I just want to look at them alone for now, because you quickly screw them all up anyway, and then I can’t play with them anymore. No, this is not an open and direct speech. Instead, they begin to build a belief in Jesus. If they only said that you will get something from us, you would not think too much about it, as parents often give this and that to the little one in their affectionate behavior. Instead, they start to complain that you definitely want to get something, honey, but we can’t give you anything, we don’t have the money for that, and then “bring Jesus.”

(Cover image: Ngampol Thongsai / EyeEm / Getty Images Hungary)