Budapest mayor Karácsony: Government plans to strip city of further EUR 44.6 million in business tax revenue

The government is preparing to “hold Budapest to further ransom” through changing this year’s tax laws, Gergely Karácsony, the city’s mayor, told a press conference on Wednesday.

According to the mayor, passage of the bill would involve the city losing HUF 18 billion (EUR 44.6 million) in business tax revenues.

“The government has obviously made a political decision: they want to push the city to the brink of an abyss. The political intention to paralyse the capital’s operations is obvious,” Karácsony said.

Under the bill, which the mayor called “revolting”, the business tax on gambling facilities would “practically” be reduced by 75 percent. “One of the purposes of the bill is obviously to make Budapest’s situation even more difficult.”