Hungary’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday rejected a motion by opposition MPs against amendments to legislation ending state subsidies for deposits in home savings banks.
The opposition MPs argued that putting the amendments to a vote in an expedited procedure was unwarranted and gave those affected by the measure too little time to prepare for the consequences. They also argued that the change excluded a large part of the population from access to home subsidies.
Bill Proposes to Phase Out Subsidy on Home Savings Bank Deposits
Parliament voted in October to phase out the state subsidy on deposits with home savings bank, one day after the bill was tabled. The government argued that the scheme, which matched 30 percent of deposits up to 72,000 forints (EUR 220) a year, was no longer functioning efficiently, and said the CSOK home purchase subsidy scheme for families was fulfilling its purpose.
In its decision on Wednesday, the Constitutional Court said the manner in which the amendments were approved was in line with the letter of the law. The Court said the principle of ensuring adequate time to make preparations cannot be interpreted to mean that would-be beneficiaries should be allowed more time to avail of a state subsidy that is being phased out.
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