PHOTO: DMITRY KATORZHNOV
Change income accounting rules Russian families were proposed by State Duma deputies. It is necessary to determine how rich or poor a family is only after deducting taxes from the total income, Duma members are sure. This is of key importance when assigning social payments and benefits.
Deputies developed a bill with amendments to the formula for taking into account the average per capita income of each family member or a citizen living alone. The Duma members propose to consider income as the amount that remains in the family budget after deducting all taxes and which people can actually manage. It is planned to introduce amendments to the lower house today.
The calculated income is the determining factor when assigning social support measures to low-income families whose per capita income is below the subsistence minimum, the authors of the bill explained. If on paper, before taxes, the amount exceeds the subsistence minimum, the family cannot receive social assistance.
“The problem is that the state provides assistance to such low-income families only if the average per capita income of a family or a person living alone is below the subsistence level. But, unfortunately, family income is calculated taking into account income tax. Where's the justice? After all, every citizen who receives a salary pays taxes on it, which means that he has a tax-free amount left in his pocket, and, therefore, he can buy food or a diary for a child for a smaller amount than the state considers. Therefore, our proposal is that when calculating family income, payroll taxes should not be taken into account. We believe that it is necessary to consider a family’s income in the form of pure money that remains in the wallet of this family or a citizen living alone,” – commented the co-author of the bill, deputy Vladimir Sipyagin (LDPR).
The Duma members recalled that a family is considered low-income if the income for each family member is less than the subsistence level of the region where it lives. All income before taxes and fees is taken into account, the calculation is carried out three months before the month in which the application for low-income status is submitted. According to Rosstat, at the beginning of 2024 in Russia there were about 13.5 million people below the poverty line who could qualify for social support measures from the state. At the same time, the cost of living in 2024 is no more than 16 thousand rubles.