The government plans to abolish gas price and district heating subsidies by April 15, 2010, the business daily Vilaggazdasag reported on Tuesday, citing information from sources close to the Finance Ministry and the State Treasury.
The planned phase-out is also supported by the fact that the 2010 budget targets HUF 20bn for such purposes compared to around HUF 60bn in the 2009 budget, the paper said.
The HUF 20bn subsidy will be covered from the so-called “Robin Hood” tax on energy companies, therefore, that tax is likely to be abolished together with the subsidies from 2011, Vilaggazdasag said.
This year, gas price subsidies are given to around 1.7m households with net monthly income under 3.5 times the pensioners’ subsistence level or about HUF 100,000. The State Treasury decides on the applications.
The Hungarian Energy Office (MEH) proposed on Monday, December 7, that the average price of gas in Hungary for consumers opting for the so-called universal (non-free-market) services be increased by 3.9pc beginning on January 1, MEH President Zoltan Matos said on Monday. The final decision lies with the energy ministry.