Hungary’s fragile economic comeback was already putting pressure on retailers, but the recent decision to ban Sunday trading may be pushing some over the edge. Tesco has revealed that it will be closing 13 loss-making stores in the country, putting 1,000 jobs at risk. Supermarkets have been dismayed as well by the imposition of an “oversight fee”, according to the Magyar Nemzet, though it’s not known how new government regulations have affected the pans. In December, SPAR announced it would cut a €59m investment program for the country complaining that large players in the grocery sector were begin deliberately targeted by new taxes and charges. A new 6 percent on retail activity will cost Lidl HUF 3bn, while SPAR’s taxes were set to jump 30 times to HUF 9bn, according to Magyar Nemzet.
