Hungarian government doubles firewood aid and cuts VAT to 5%

Minister Gajdos László announced an immediate directive to state forest‑management companies to increase the supply of firewood for low‑income households. The social firewood programme will double the amount of wood that families can obtain and the total budget allocated to the scheme.

The government will also reduce the value‑added tax on firewood from 27% to 5% starting 15 September, aiming to keep heating costs affordable for the roughly 1.5 million households that rely on firewood. The measure is expected to cost about 16 billion forints this year and 98 billion forints over the next four years. In addition, the minister called for extra watering of wildlife water points to mitigate the effects of an ongoing drought.

The programme is part of broader social‑assistance efforts and is financed by the Ministry of Environment and related state agencies.