Hungary’s economics minister has announced a tax investigation will be launched into RTL Klub Hungary, which he said was suspected of carrying out a fraudulent transaction. The transaction was allegedly cooked up in order to avoid paying taxes. This follows statements from the ruling party Fidesz’s parliament club leader Antal Rogan who called upon the government to deal strictly with tax evaders, mentioning the television station as he did so. RTL suspects that the investigation stems from displeasure at its independent stance as a major media player. A new tax on advertisements threatens to harm the company’s business model and RTL believes it’s been singled out as having the most to lose from its introduction.
