Budapest unable to pay May salaries due to the solidarity contribution

Budapest will be unable to pay salaries in May if the Hungarian State Treasury continues its practice of seizing the city’s current account in April under the so-called solidarity contribution scheme, Gergely Karácsony, the city’s mayor, told a press conference on Tuesday.

Karácsony noted he had written to the head of the Treasury on Monday, urging them to refrain from “once again seizing the city’s current account in April illegally, though following the practice of previous periods”.

The city’s current account currently stands at a deficit of 6.5 billion forints, he said, adding: “If the Treasury exploits this political transition period to unlawfully seize the city’s account, our six years of efforts to maintain the city’s operational capacity will be in vain — we won’t even be able to pay April salaries.”

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