In their joint letter, the Republican minority leaders of the influential subcommittees dealing with trade and tax policy issues of the House of Representatives (Congressmen Adrian Smith and Mike Kelly) thanked the Hungarian government for opposing the EU's adoption of the OECD agreement, which includes the global minimum tax (GMT).
The signatories of the document obtained by the Magyar Nemzet explain that they respect Hungary's sovereign right to develop its own tax standards without being influenced by states that apply higher tax rates. They also understand that it is in Hungary's national interest to attract economic activity with a tax system that supports growth.
In the letter, the representatives propose that direct negotiations between the Hungarian government and congressional Republicans regarding GMT take place.
The signatories note that they are aware of the decision of the Hungarian Parliament, adopted by a large majority, which expressed concerns that the planned minimum tax would be harmful to Hungarian competitiveness, therefore its details must be carefully examined before the adoption of the European Union directive in order to avoid double taxation . They add that they have concerns similar to those of the Hungarian government regarding the second pillar, so many questions regarding the proposal are unclear, including its relationship to the existing similar type of tax (GILTI) in the USA, which raises the risk of double taxation. Based on this, Republican lawmakers question the justification for the entire world to move towards a system that forces countries to give up their tax sovereignty, while opening new international tax disputes between them.
The full article of Magyar Nemzet can be read here.
Pictured: US congressmen Adrian Smith (b) and Mike Kelly (j) (Source: Representatives' Facebook pages)
