Hungary is imposing the world’s first “internet tax”

There’s a quote which says, “Nothing is certain except for death and taxes.” For the most part this is true as people around the world are being taxed by their governments for all sorts of things. Sales tax, service tax, import/export taxes, income tax, and interestingly enough in Hungary, internet tax.

Hungary is preparing to impose the world’s first tax on internet usage in the latest example of the unorthodox economic policies being pursued by President Viktor Orbán and his increasingly dominant Fidesz party. Mihály Varga, economy minister, on Wednesday unveiled the plans, which include a charge of Ft150 (62 U.S. cents) for each gigabyte of internet data consumed. Mr Varga said the tax – to be paid by internet service providers – was a logical extension of levies on phone calls and text messages the government announced in 2011.