Finance Minister considers proposing reduction in state subsidies on home building savings

Finance Minister Eduard Janota says he is considering reducing state subsidies on home-building savings by up to one third. According to Saturday’s Mladá fronta Dnes daily, Mr Janota plans to propose the cost-cutting measure to the cabinet. The paper says Mr Janota would like the reduction to apply to new as well as existing contracts in order to save nearly 5 billion crowns of state budget money. Jiří Šedivý of the Czech Building and Loan Societies Association says the government should also consider the potential negative implications of the step.