Prague mayoral candidates clash over budget and RUD tax reform

At a pre-election debate between Prague mayoral candidates held on Monday at the Royal theatre in Vinohrady, ANO candidate Hušbauer accused Tomáš Portlík, leader of the Prague Civic Democrats (ODS), of spreading disinformation about a possible drop in city revenue caused by a reform of how taxes are divided between regions. Portlík hit back, accusing his rival of distorting the facts about the pace of the city's investments.

Dispute over the tax-allocation reform

Hušbauer said that for the past two months Portlík has been “spreading disinformation and outright lies” that someone wants to take money away from Prague. He argued that the Civic Democrat leader is using this to cover up the fact that under Portlík, STAN and the Pirates, the city has been unable to invest its money properly. At issue is a possible change to the budgetary allocation of taxes (RUD) — the system under which the state splits part of the taxes it collects between cities and regions. Prague receives money through both RUD channels, since it is simultaneously a city and a region, and could lose a significant share of its revenue if the rules change.

Hušbauer pointed out that Finance Minister Alena Schillerová (ANO) had denied any plans to change RUD, and used that to accuse Portlík of disinformation. Portlík countered that the minister “didn't deny anything at all — she only said that she isn't currently working on changing RUD.” Indeed, on her X account Schillerová denied reports of an imminent change to the law only last Wednesday, yet back in late September, in an interview with Czech Television, she had said: “Prague has an inadequate amount of money that it doesn't spend and is unable to spend. We, too, are working to make the distribution fairer.”

Other ANO members have also spoken about the need to revise RUD, even though Hušbauer himself claimed he had “never once heard” such demands. For instance, Zlín Region governor Radim Holiš (ANO) has long been pushing for a change to the system in talks with the government, while MP and budget committee member Patrik Pařil (ANO) called the current tax distribution unfair: “This definitely needs to change — we're discussing it with the finance ministry too, but the debate is only just beginning.”

CZK 182.8 billion in Prague's accounts

In the dispute over the pace of Prague's investment, Hušbauer's argument is backed by Finance Ministry figures. In 2025 Prague ended the year with a surplus of CZK 24.2 billion, and the city's financial reserves keep growing. According to the Finance Ministry, by the end of 2025 Prague's bank accounts held CZK 182.8 billion. “If we carry on at this rate, Prague will have CZK 300 billion in its account by 2030,” Hušbauer calculated.

What the city plans to spend the money on

Portlík insists that the accumulated funds are already earmarked for future projects. “Every crown has its purpose. The Radlická radiála road costs CZK 35 billion, and in two years it could be 40. The inner city ring road alone involves a sum of over 100 billion. Finishing construction of metro line D is about 120 billion, and we still don't know all the possible complications. On top of that, within a single election term we need to build around ten large secondary schools, social facilities, and keep building tram lines,” Portlík listed.

Read also: Prague metro: map and tickets

Source: novinky.cz