Mayor says tax law will kill Budapest transport
The capitalʼs transport budget was slashed yesterday when lawmakers passed new rules on financing Budapestʼs public transport in a measure bundled in with a law on reducing VAT on home construction, according to reports.
Budapest Mayor István Tarlós (pictured) said the new rules, which were put into effect by hiding them within another bill, will “kill public transport in the cityʼs agglomeration ”, online news portal index.hu reported.
The new law states that revenue from local business tax will be shared out between the city and its local districts in a way that the city gets more, but the city would be required to take care of all of its financing needs from these funds alone.
Tarlós said Budapest received HUF 3 billion but lost HUF 6 bln in the same move. Opposition parties criticized the law, with the Socialists noting that "nowhere in the world is the financing of public transport a viable business, but nowhere does the state pull out of this financing".
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