Steven N.Protests flared up in Budapest on Tuesday after a draft law was submitted to Parliament on Monday that would radically restrict the favorable KATA tax structure, used by an estimated 450,000 Hungarian small-scale entrepreneurs.
The protest began at 10:00am at Kossuth Square, in front of Parliament, but around 1,000 people soon headed in the direction of Margit Bridge. Shortly after 11:00am, the protestors shut down traffic on the bridge.
Around 12:30, another group of protestors marched to Erzsébet Bridge and occupied two lanes on the bridge for a few hours.
Protestors held impromptu speeches on Margit Bridge for several hours, with a few hundred protestors still occupying the bridge at 6:00pm.
Tents were even set up on the tram rails, and the 4-6 tram was still not running between Mechwart liget and Oktogon at this time. Police eventually began to clear the area of protestors shortly after 7:00pm.
Meanwhile, around 100-200 protestors took over a busy intersection in the eastern city of Debrecen in a spontaneous demonstration.
Nearly 100 protestors also held a peaceful and calm demonstration against the changes to KATA in the southern city of Szeged. [Telex, Magyar Narancs]
