Government announces new family housing subsidy
October 17th, 2020A pro-government columnist welcomes new government measures to help families and boost the construction industry. A left-wing commentator, on the other hand, finds the newly announced plans counterproductive and inefficient.
Katalin Novák, Minister of State for Family, Youth and International Affairs announced a steep VAT cut for newly built family homes to 5 per cent from the current 27 per cent (the standard rate in Hungary on most goods and services).The government introduced a preferential 5 per cent VAT rate on new apartments in 2016, but since the beginning of this year, VAT returned to 27 per cent. Ms Novák also said that the government will reimburse 50 per cent of renovation costs for families with at least one child up to 6 million Forints.
Magyar Hírlap’s Gábor Putsay welcomes the government’s decision, and thinks that the new regulations will be a great help for families, whilst also boosting the economy. The pro-government commentator praises the government for doing its best to help alleviate the impact of the coronavirus slowdown.
In Népszava, Zsolt Papp is skeptical about the improvements the newly announced measures are expected to bring for families. On the contrary, construction prices will go up, the left-wing columnist suspects. He adds that despite the 50 per cent reimbursement, families hit by the coronavirus slowdown will have no money to renovate their homes. In conclusion, Papp thinks that the government’s newly announced renovation subsidy will be costly for taxpayers, but will not help families in need.