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Tens of thousands of people demonstrated again on Tuesday in Budapest against the government plan for a new internet tax presented at the beginning of the week and demanded 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 direct devastating consequences for Internet service providers (ISPs) and indirect for the public”. The daily adds that —
Those organisations point out that digital skills and the widespread use of internet and online services has been a long-standing priority for the government. ISPs have made every effort to make sure that 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]http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/player.cfm?ref=I094641) the tax.
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