When the idea of selling the company matures in the mind of a business owner, there’s still a long way to go before the company can be successfully sold. There are many legal and tax matters to be seen to as part of the process – and these should not be left to the last minute. We discuss a few of these here.

This is the seventh year that we’ve been taking stock of the types of taxes in Hungary – and the multi-year trend is decidedly reassuring. The number of taxes has decreased to some extent almost every year. This year we’ve counted 51 types of tax, and at this point one might reasonably ask: is it realistic to expect even fewer taxes?

More and more people are earning money online as bloggers, vloggers or influencers. Through social media, you can reach millions with a well-targeted message, and this can result in a substantial income. These incomes are subject to tax – but it’s important to think about how to pay it.

Holding companies and other so-called "letterbox companies", which mainly collect passive income without a real economic presence, have been in the crosshairs of the European Union for quite some time. The draft directive published by the European Commission on 22 December as a kind of Christmas present could complete this process.

While market players are finding it increasingly difficult to acquire energy in the quantities needed for their operations, and with skyrocketing energy prices only making matters worse, the government incentive schemes that are available no longer provide a financially viable alternative for power plant developers. The solution may lie in selling electricity on the open market – though key to this will be deciding on a legal framework that’s acceptable to all parties involved, including the lending banks.

Tax-efficient forms of remuneration, serving at the same time, as a means of motivating management have never been more popular. And the range of options available for doing this has expanded this summer to include what’s known as a Special Employee Co-Ownership Program (“KMRP” in Hungarian), a vehicle that can be used for in certain situations that cannot be handled in the context of an Employee Part-ownership Program, MRP. In addition, KMRPs are an excellent vehicle for implementing management buyouts. 

Recently, the tax authority’s audit practices have changed appreciably. While until recently, tax audits were mostly launched as fully standalone procedures, today the tax authority (NAV) is increasingly initiating criminal proceedings alongside its tax audits. This is particularly the case in bogus-invoice deals affecting VAT, as well as in excise-duty and certain customs matters. But what’s behind this?

Implementing private property investments using company assets is slowly becoming a national sport. While the approach seems tempting, it carries a lot of risk. And the tax authority, NAV, has this type of arrangement firmly in its sights.