Hungary's tax chief resigns, was banned from entering US due to suspicions of corruption

The head of the country's tax office, who has been banned from entering the United States due to corruption allegations, has resigned, Hungary's economy ministry said Monday.

The ministry said Ildiko Vida's gave notice two months ago and that her term of office ended Monday. It praised her work but said a new, more "client friendly" era was starting at the tax office.

"The national tax and customs office led by Ildiko Vida played an extraordinarily serious role in the creation of a balanced state budget," the ministry said, highlighting the increased tax revenues and the smaller size of the underground economy.

Vida was one of six Hungarians banned from entering the U.S. because of suspected links to corruption. The U.S. government never named those people but Vida made public in November that she and colleagues from the tax office were on the list. She denied any wrongdoing.

Under pressure from Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Vida sued a U.S. diplomat, M. Andre Goodfriend, who implicated the tax office, but the libel case seeking compensation of 5 million forints ($17,500) was dropped because of his diplomatic immunity.

The Hungarian government has not investigated Vida or the rest of the corruption allegations, saying it had not received any evidence from Washington about the alleged misdeeds.