• Home
• Channel: Current Affairs
• Budapest Becomes Net Payer To State First Time In 30 Years, Says Major

Budapest Becomes Net Payer To State First Time In 30 Years, Says Major

• 22 Jun 2020 9:32 AM
• Hungary Matters

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said that for the first time in 30 years, Budapest had become a net payer to the state budget, which imposes an annual burden of around 20,000 forints (EUR 60) on each resident.

Karácsony said on Facebook that the government had withdrawn more resources from Budapest than the support granted to the city.

The mayor said the government had imposed a “Budapest tax” on the city under the pretext that the capital must contribute to the costs of efforts to contain the novel coronavirus epidemic.

Budapest, however, has already spent 2.5 billion forints on protection, performing tasks which, under the effective rules of law, should have been financed from the central budget, he said.

Additionally, companies run by the metropolitan council have suffered losses to the tune of tens of billion forints during the epidemic, Karácsony said. He cited the public transport company which lost one billion forints each week.

MTI Photo: Zoltán Balogh

• How does this content make you feel?
• I love it
• I like it
• I dislike it

• Budapest Tax Mayor Karácsony

XpatLoop Media Partner

Hungary Matters

Launched in January 2014, this newsletter published on week days covers 'everything you need to know about what’s going on in Hungary and beyond', according to its publisher the state media agency MTI.

Explore More Reports

'Absurd': Charges Proposed Against Budapest Mayor

• 12 Dec 2025 8:03 AM

An investigation into the Budapest Pride march in June has concluded with a recommendation to raise charges, Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Thursday, adding that he is accused of violating the right of assembly.



Budapest Crisis: Lifeline Loan or Power Grab?

• 11 Dec 2025 6:17 AM

The government's aid loan programme is a "safety belt" for Budapest to ensure that the city remains functional, its employees get paid, and "nobody pockets the money owed to them", Alexandra Szentkirályi, the group leader of the ruling parties in the city assembly, said on Facebook on Monday.



Updated: 'Budapest Will Not Kneel', Says Mayor to Gov't

• 4 Dec 2025 12:00 PM

At a "Budapest Pride March 2.0" rally outside the Carmelite Monastery, the prime minister's office, Gergely Karacsony, the mayor of Budapest, vowed the city would "not kneel", as he handed the City Assembly's resolution on its "real financial crisis" to a government representative.



Budget Crisis Threatens Budapest’s Public Services, City Hall Rejects Insolvency Ultimatum

• 2 Dec 2025 6:15 AM

The financial stability of Budapest is currently at the centre of a fierce political standoff between the City Assembly and the national government. The dispute intensified this week after Mayor Gergely Karácsony and the city administration rejected a government proposal to declare the capital insolvent, an act the government had framed as a prerequisite for offering financial aid.