Budapest mayor Karácsony: Rákosrendező project and solidarity tax ruling threaten Budapest’s autonomy

The planned development project at Budapest’s Rákosrendező area raises issues of sovereignty and autonomy, Mayor Gergely Karácsony told the municipal assembly on Wednesday.

Ahead of a vote on whether the city should exercise its pre-emption rights and purchase the area, the mayor said “the Rákosrendező cause” would determine “if such a major project at such an important area of the city is implemented in line with the will of local residents … or in a completely different way.” Meanwhile, the mayor said a recent ruling concerning the city’s “solidarity tax” to be paid to the central budget also had a direct impact on the city’s autonomy and freedom. “There is no free, self-sustaining city without resources that it can use freely and independently,” Karácsony said. He said that under the ruling, collecting over 28 billion forints [EUR 68.6m] from the city’s accounts in 2023 had been illegitimate.

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