VIDEO The mayor of Sfântu Gheorghe announced that he is reducing local taxes and fees, after a protest in front of the town hall and meetings with the city's residents

The Mayor of Sfântu Gheorghe Municipality, Antal Arpad (UDMR) and the president of UDMR Sfântu Gheorghe, Miklos Zoltan, announced on Thursday, in a press conference, that they decided, following the complaints from citizens, to reduce to the legal minimum the level of local taxes and taxes for cars and land (for legal entities). Initially, faced with the dissatisfaction of the people, the mayor of Sfântu Gheorghe had blamed the situation on the leader of the Hungarian opposition, Peter Magyar.

Mayor Antal Arpad said Thursday that for 2026 “we had big plans”: “We thought this could be the year with the biggest development ever. But our duty, as community leaders, is to build the city and serve the citizens.”

“There are times when the individual interest of the citizens does not coincide with the interests of the city. This is the situation with taxes. Because people pay their taxes and the advantage is with the one who receives the taxes,” explained the mayor.

“There are too many citizens in this city for whom even the smallest extra expense is a great burden”

Antal Arpad later referred to the protest in front of the Sfântu Gheorghe City Hall on Monday, where around 200 people gathered to protest against the increase in local taxes. Apart from the protest, the mayor also organized a meeting with the citizens on Tuesday.

“In the last few days, as you could see, I had a lot of meetings with the citizens. I listened to them, I learned from them, and their message was very clear. There are many citizens in this city for whom even the smallest extra expense is a big burden. This year, in 2026, everyday life is more important for many citizens in this city than the development of the city. As mayor, I have to understand and accept this,” said Antal Arpad.

“A change in the sense of decrease, to the advantage of the taxpayer”

The president of the UDMR Sfântu Gheorghe, deputy Miklos Zoltan, later explained that, considering that the municipal budget for 2026 was not adopted, the decision of the Local Council from December 2025, by which local taxes and fees were increased, can be modified, which he proposed and will happen.

“We are talking about a change in the sense of decrease, to the advantage of the taxpayer. It is legal”, stated Miklos Zoltan.

“In the case of hybrid cars, let's amend the CL ruling in the sense that this tax should decrease to the minimum level set by the Fiscal Code. In the case of other cars, let's decrease the taxes to the maximum level, which they were at in 2025. This is also valid in the case of vans. The third proposal was that in the case of land taxes for legal entities, we should change them in the sense of decrease and set them at the minimum level set by the Code Fiscal. It is the lowest level among all the municipalities in Transylvania,” explained the deputy.

“Regarding the building tax for legal entities, you are well aware that a de minimis scheme has been operating for 11-14 years, whereby all taxpayers, natural persons who pay building tax, benefit from a third of the tax refund. It would be good for this scheme to work in the future”, he stated.

Local authorities have appealed to people not to pay their taxes until February 2, when full details of the changes will be made clear. Those who have paid in the meantime can request a refund, notes CovasnaMedia.ro.

How much the authorities had initially increased the taxes at Sfântu Gheorghe

Since December in Sfântu Gheorghe, local taxes for individuals have not been increased by local decision, but only adjusted with the inflation rate, according to legal provisions.

All local taxes, both those on housing and land, as well as those for means of transport, were indexed in Sfântu Gheorghe only with last year's inflation rate, i.e. 10.4%, which is mandatory by law.

“Thus, a family that has an apartment of 70 sqm and a car of 1,400 cm3 will pay a total tax of almost 400 lei next year, i.e. more than 770 lei less than the maximum amount of taxation allowed by the Fiscal Code (1,170 lei)”, the local authorities stated in a press release.

The mayor initially blamed the people's revolt on the Hungarian opposition party

In a meeting with disgruntled citizens that took place on Tuesday, the mayor of Sfântu Gheorghe, who is from the UDMR, a party close to Fidesz, of Viktor Orban in Hungary, said that the protests organized on this issue were aimed at “dividing the community”:

“There are at least three forces that are trying to break it up: a puppet political organization, an economic interest group and a Hungarian political party,” the mayor said, at which point the image of Hungarian opposition leader Magyar Péter appeared on the screen, according to hang.hu.

Of the three “forces”, the mayor “unmasked” one: the Tisza party, writes the cited source. In the broadcast, participants can be clearly heard shouting that “this is off topic” and demanding that the campaign policy be left in Hungary. Antal Arpád interrupted them, however, saying: “Yes, you must listen to the end!”.

Further, the mayor showed people a name and a photo that he said was of a Tisza activist: “Does it seem normal for a Tisza party activist, who has been living in Budapest for 22 years, to create a Facebook group in Sfântu Gheorghe with the aim of further inflaming this state of mind until March 15?”, asked Antal Arpad.

Meanwhile, data from the Tisza database that has reached the public space was displayed on the screen. Basically, the UDMR politician presented a list of supporters of an opposition party in Hungary.

Hundreds of people protested on Monday in Sfântu Gheorghe against the increase in fees and taxes

Approximately 200 people gathered on Monday, from 12:00, in front of the Sfântu Gheorghe City Hall, in Covasna County, to express their dissatisfaction with the increase in local taxes. The mayor of the city, Antal Arpad (UDMR), came out and talked to the disgruntled people.

The protest was announced online by local activist Peter Fazakas, former member of the County Council, according to CovasnaMedia.ro.

The demonstration was peaceful, but there were also moments when the tone of the discussions became more pressing, reports the local press.