The dispute between Hungary and the Austrian retail group Spar over the special tax for large supermarket chains is entering the next round. “We had barely lodged the complaint when we were inundated by hundreds of inspectors and were put through our paces and of course punished for one thing or another,” said Spar spokeswoman Nicole Berkmann to Ö1.
In March, Spar complained regarding the Hungarian special tax in letters to the EU Commission Vice President responsible for competition, Margrethe Vestager, and the Internal Market Commissioner, Thierry Breton, and demanded that infringement proceedings be initiated. As part of the special tax, Spar must pay 4.5 percent of annual turnover in Hungary this year, compared to 4.1 percent previously. The domestic supermarket chain is the second largest food retailer in Hungary.
The Hungarian subsidiary expects special tax revenue of more than 90 million euros in 2024. In 2023, it was 76 million euros. The special tax is designed in such a way that “it only affects foreign companies”, “but never the domestic Hungarian companies in this case”, said the Spar spokeswoman.
In June, there was a meeting between EU Competition Commissioner Vestager and Spar CEO Hans K. Reisch on the Hungarian special tax. Berkmann said that they had heard “positive signals” from the EU Commissioner. Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (VP) has also already called for infringement proceedings to be initiated once morest Hungary in a letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. In this case, Hungarian tax laws are “simply contrary to European law and discriminatory” because they “place an excessive burden on foreign companies, especially Austrian companies,” said Schallenberg.
In mid-March, the Hungarian Ministry of Economic Affairs accused Spar of “false, malicious allegations”. In a press release at the time, the ministry pointed out that the Salzburg-based retail group was not suffering losses because of the special tax imposed in Hungary, but rather because of unprofitable business practices.
Companies in other sectors are also reportedly affected by discrimination and harassment in Hungary. As reported, banks, for example, are affected by special taxes.
