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Tens of thousands of people demonstrated in Budapest on 28 October against plans for a new internet tax proposed at the beginning of the week and to demand the resignation of Viktor Orbán’s government. The rally was called by organisations opposing the tax. According to the bill, firms will have to pay no more than 16 euros per month.
Professional organisations “also protested against the Internet tax”, writes Népszabadság, reporting that “they say it will have devastating consequences directly for Internet service providers (ISPs) and indirectly for the public.” The daily adds that —
Those organisations point out that digital skills and the widespread use of internet and online services have been long-standing priorities for the government. ISPs have made every effort to ensure the public can enjoy a wide array of online services, which has allowed productivity gains and increased the Hungarian economy’s competitiveness. The new tax will generate completely opposite effects.
The daily calculates that “over a hundred small ISPs will go bankrupt because of the internet tax” and adds that European Commissioner for Digital Agenda Neelie Kroes opposed the tax.
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