Minister Márton Nagy pointed out that the budget guarantees the prerequisites for a work-based society.Continue reading
The Budapest Metropolitan Government Office won a lawsuit against the capital because Budapest’s budget did not include the EUR 220 million (HUF 89 billion) solidarity contribution, Index reported. As a result, Chief Magistrate Botond Sára succeeded in having the capital’s 2025 budget declared unlawful. As a consequence of the lawsuit, the capital will have to amend its budget after July 1, as the Supreme Court has annulled the provisions on the total amount of expenditure and the solidarity contribution.
The majority of the Budapest General Assembly—representing the Tisza Party, the Podmaniczky Movement, the DK, and the Dialogue parties—approved Budapest’s 2025 budget in December 2024, before the holidays. The budget planned to pay only EUR 94 million (HUF 38 billion) in solidarity contributions to the state, omitting the additional EUR 126 million (HUF 51 billion). It assumes that the capital will only pay as much of the solidarity contribution due in 2025, as it receives from the state in support of its tasks.
In response, Chief Magistrate Botond Sára posted a Facebook video in which he stated that, according to the Budapest government office, the capital’s budget is irregular, so he was forced to turn to the Supreme Court.
The capital has no reason not to pay the solidarity contribution, as business tax revenues are steadily increasing, which serve as the basis for the amount of the solidarity contribution,”
Sára said in March.
Budapest Deputy Mayor Ambrus Kiss previously told reporters that the government office had challenged the capital’s budget in court, but the Supreme Court’s decision did not mean that the budget had to be annulled.
According to Index, the first provision to be annulled concerns the underestimation of the solidarity contribution, while the second relates to the capital’s total expenditure. According to Sára, this creates a EUR 126 million (HUF 51 billion) hole in the budget, which must be filled.
The capital city must somehow find a way to cover this EUR 126 million (HUF 51 billion) hole. It is not my job to decide how this will be done,”
the chief magistrate told Index, adding that if this does not happen, the president of the State Treasury may decide to appoint a budget commissioner to guarantee the safety of Budapest’s residents. The budget commissioner’s first task would be to review how the capital’s finances are managed. If this is not satisfactory, a report must be prepared and the situation must be addressed.
Everything Gergely Karácsony (Mayor of Budapest) has said so far is completely wrong. The Supreme Court’s decision supports the position previously stated by the Capital City Government Office on this matter,”
stated Sára, referring to the fact that Wednesday’s decision completely overrules everything the capital has communicated so far regarding the budget. He also said that this is not a technical decision, as the Supreme Court has overturned the key provisions that make significant financial adjustments necessary.
Via Index, hirado.hu; Featured photo: MTI/Máthé Zoltán