Deputy Mayor Lajos Barcsa held a press conference on the economic results of Debrecen, who said that the city has a stable economic background. He added that the consequences of the crisis, which affected everyone, posed a serious challenge to local governments. But our city has kept the budget in balance by rescheduling investments and cutting spending.
Debrecen’s budget for 2021 does not plan on borrowing. In 2015, the city announced a new economic development program that primarily resulted in new, high value-added job growth and significant business tax revenue growth.
Relaunching the economy requires viable local businesses, which is why it is important for Debrecen to help companies.
Last year, four new companies – Sensirion AG, BHS Trans, 4iG, SEMCORP – arrived in Debrecen, creating a total of 566 new jobs. Local companies invested HUF 8 billion.
The National Investment Agency, HIPA, has also announced a growth subsidy rebate. Here, the companies in Debrecen made an investment of HUF 7 billion, partly with state subsidies. The small and medium-sized enterprise sector received HUF 3.9 billion in government support in order to preserve jobs in Debrecen.
In terms of investments, the Government of Hungary assisted the enterprises in Debrecen with an investment of HUF 15 billion. It provided HUF 3.9 billion in pure support for the preservation of jobs. The local government contributed HUF 4 billion in cost savings to the success of Debrecen businesses. We helped the businesses of Debrecen with a total of HUF 22 billion in subsidies, discounts and investments, said Deputy Mayor Lajos Barcsa.
Debreceni Vagyonkezelő Zrt. Was able to carry out its task in such a way that even those companies, in addition to the average fluctuation, were not made redundant and were forced to suffer a significant loss of revenue. DKV Zrt. also developed a transport mobile ticket and a time-based mobile ticket in this difficult economic situation. Both products are very popular among travelers. So far, 39,271 of the mobile ticket and 6,570 of the time-based one-hour mobile ticket have been exchanged.
The business tax is one of the most important sources of revenue for the city, which can significantly strengthen the development opportunities of Debrecen. Entrepreneurship also grew in the city during the pandemic period. While in 2020, 30,602 were taxed, in 2021, that number had already risen to 31,983.
The loss of the city’s local business tax revenue in 2021 is HUF 3.7 billion, which is what remains for local businesses.
The local government has taken several measures to help businesses, so since 15 November 2020, restaurants and cafés in Debrecen can use the public areas where they operate terraces free of charge until 31 December 2021. This discount was already provided by the municipality for catering shops from 1 April to 30 June 2020. The local government released a total of HUF 48 million in public space use fees for businesses in Debrecen.
Currently, 156 catering shops have the necessary permits to create a terrace, 143 terraces are already in operation. In 2021, 10 restaurants newly created a terrace.
The expected amount of the rental discount granted by Cívis Ház Zrt. In 2021 and to be granted by 30 June is approximately HUF 220 million net. In the third wave of the pandemic, the discount will affect about 200 tenants.
The budget for Debrecen in 2021, like the previous ones, is characterized by development, stability and security, in addition to its thrift and conservative, careful planning method. The planning of the city’s budget does not take into account new borrowing, but a significant reserve, which exceeds HUF 3 billion.
Debrecen City Hall Press
The photo was taken by János Miskolczi.
