Tax law
changes concerning retail trade
The tax
package adopted by the Parliament for the next year will not introduce new tax
type – the internet tax was withdrawn – and neither have to we calculate with
radical tax law changes; but, with numerous new provisions and amendments. Out
from these we firstly call the attention to the main changes affecting the
retail trade sector.
1. Corporate Income Tax Act (the CIT Act) will
tighten the concept of the income- / profit minimum
Cost of goods
sold and the cost of mediated services cannot be taken into account –
that is divided from total revenues - in the calculation of the so called
revenue – (profit -) minimum relevant for the preparation of the corporate
income tax report (however, the local revenues of foreign premises can still be
taken into account).
Thus based on
the above the CIT Act practically defines the income minimum as 2 % of the adjusted
total revenue, not including the special adjustments – namely this calculation
must be taken into account from now on as the corporate income tax base (10%,
16%) by companies, which choose taxation according to income- (profit-)
minimum.
Nonetheless, we note that in
certain cases the company may not decide on the taxation according to the above
calculated income minimum (neither according to the current regulations):
Thus for example, if the pre-tax
profit or the corporate tax base pursuant to the general provisions is higher
than the profit minimum; or such tax year is concerned when functioning as a
pre-company that is in the first year of the undertaking founded without
predecessor; or if in the tax year or in the previous tax year natural disaster
had sustained the company, and nor in the case, when a special organizational
form (for example association, foundation, charitable non-profit organization
etc.) excludes the applicability to that effect.
2. Changes pertaining to local taxes
- According to the amendment
act the municipalities will have authorization to introduce municipality taxes
in their administrative area to subjects, which are not already levied by a public
burden, in addition, taxable person can be a private individual, not
entrepreneur, business association or organization. This way the amendment will
spare stores.
- Nevertheless, determination
of the base of the local business tax (HIPA) is tightening as of 2015 as the
consequence of the amendment act.
Combined tax base determining
rules during the calculation of HIPA of affiliated companies have to be used proportionately
for the period of existence of the affiliated companies.
Pursuant to the Act on Local
taxes, taxable persons qualifying to be affiliated companies according to CIT
Act may determine their local business tax base in a way that the total net
revenue of affiliated companies and the total net revenue decreasing
expenditure positive difference.
During the calculation of the
tax base the amount of the cost of the goods sold and the cost
of mediated services shall be taken into account as well according to the net revenue of the
taxable person; however, pursuant to the amendment act by the increase of the
revenue it can be deducted in a decreasing extent progressively (expressed in
%).
Therefore, whilst according to
the currently effective rules when determining the revenue of affiliated
companies the above adjustment items can be taken into account without
restriction, afterwards only proportionately in line with the existence of the
affiliated relation and to % extent according to the net revenue
3. Establishing
progressively and increasing the supervision fee payable by food traders
Stores and chain stores selling
daily consumer products according legal provisions currently pay uniformly 0,1%
food chain supervision fee upon the net revenue arising from the payable
activity from previous year. The fee must be reported for the subject year and
its base can be reduced with the amount of the already paid excise duty and the
public health product tax.
Significance of the fee is
that the food-chain supervising organ ensures the income of the National Food
Chain Safety Office (NFCSO) and the governmental offices for the ensurance of
the official supervisory activities pertaining to food chains. Authorities
pursue hundreds of thousands of supervisions annually, and examinations of
millions to the products of food stores.
As a result of the amendment
of legal provisions the amount of the food chain supervision fee will increase
and will be established progressively upon the net revenue of the business
association according to the below:
·
up to HUF 500 million: no fee payment obligation;
·
up to HUF 500 million – HUF 50 billion: 0,1%;
·
above HUF 50 billion: the amount of the fee increases by 1-1% after each 50
billion;
·
above HUF 300 billion: 6% (this is the maximum extent).
The increase of the food
supervision fee can mean additional burden of the value of billion to the food
store chains, based on which it is likely that they will be forced to increase
the consumer retail trade prices.
***
We will inform our Readers
about further changes of the tax package from 2015 in our upcoming newsletters.
