Coronavirus – Budapest mayor: BKIK against cancelling local business tax

Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony said on Tuesday that in addition to the metropolitan council, the Budapest Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BKIK) was also against a proposal by MKIK’s head to suspend the payment of local business tax (ipa) to municipalities.

Karácsony said on Facebook that in line with a Tuesday agreement between Budapest and BKIK “the cancellation of ipa is only possible if local municipalities are fully compensated at the same time”. “Any other proposal to the contrary would result in serious problems in providing essential public services,” he added.

Karácsony said they agreed to launch a joint scheme by utilising resources in the Budapest business development public foundation to open a 2.5 billion forint (EUR 6.9m) micro credit line as a swift assistance to small and micro size businesses hit most hard by the pandemic.

Additionally, a voucher scheme will be launched enabling consumers to buy services in advance which will help finance businesses facing difficulties, he said.

The details of the scheme will be prepared jointly, the mayor said.