Priority areas: Putin announced the annual indexation of maternity capital

Russia will start indexing payments under the maternity capital program annually.

This was announced on Wednesday, September 23, by President Vladimir Putin during a speech to members of the Federation Council.

“This year, the total amount of maternity capital has been increased to 616 617 rubles.

The family gets the right to 466,617 rubles already at the birth of their first child, as you know.

And, what is also important, maternity capital will be indexed annually, "Putin said.

“From January 1, 2021, the amount of maternity capital will increase by almost 23 thousand rubles and will amount to 639,432 rubles.

At the same time, the amount of payment for the birth of the first child will be almost 484 thousand rubles, ”the president added.

Recall that in January, the Russian leader announced the extension of the maternity capital program until at least the end of 2026.

As the head of state noted, at the moment Russia needs to "get out of the demographic trap" and by the middle of the decade ensure a steady natural growth in the country's population.

• Vladimir Putin on the indexation of maternity capital

The announced indexation of payments will make it possible to compensate for the impact of rising consumer prices on the family budget of Russians.

Anton Greenstein, an expert at the Hamilton information and analytical center, spoke about this in an interview with RT.

“Maternity capital for Russia is a very important support measure, especially in the context of the coronavirus crisis.

It allows many families to deal with important housing, educational and financial issues.

Therefore, indexation is simply necessary to maintain the current rate of increase in the standard of living in the country, ”the expert added.

Note that in addition to providing payments for the birth of the first and second children, when the third child appears, the state extinguishes for the family part of the mortgage loan in the amount of 450 thousand rubles.

Thus, families with three children have the opportunity to allocate over 1.5 million rubles to solve the housing issue.

“In this respect, maternity capital remains a great help for the economy, as it supports people in their determination to take a step towards buying their own apartment or house.

These funds will serve for many families at least as a down payment for the same mortgage, and in less expensive regions for living, these amounts can provide, say, half of the total cost of purchased housing, ”said Petr Pushkarev, chief analyst of TeleTrade, to RT.

Social commitment

As the President emphasized, the country's Constitution fixes "the most important priority of the state policy of Russia is children, the creation of the best opportunities for their all-round development."

Against this background, Vladimir Putin also instructed to provide for the possibility of increasing the amount of payments to low-income families with children from 3 to 7 years old.

Appointment of the corresponding benefits began on June 1 for a period of one year.

According to Putin, this support measure covers 4.85 million children, and depending on the region, the amount of payment is approximately 5.5 thousand rubles per child per month.

Nevertheless, as the President noted, it was previously planned to evaluate the effectiveness of this program and, if necessary, bring the amount of material assistance to one minimum wage (12,130 rubles).

“This is exactly what we are obliged to do.

Therefore, when working on the budget, I ask you to provide for the possibility of increasing the amount of such payment starting from 2021.

The government should define clear, understandable, fair criteria for providing additional support for those families whose monthly income has not reached one subsistence level per person in the region, ”Putin said.

As Nikita Maslennikov, head of the Finance and Economics department of the Institute of Contemporary Development, noted in a conversation with RT, in the context of the coronavirus, since the second quarter of 2020, the number of Russians with incomes below the subsistence level has grown by almost 13%.

At the same time, families with children turned out to be the most vulnerable category of the population, therefore the state provides assistance to this particular group of citizens, the expert explained.

“Despite the fact that the quarantine period has already ended, the economic situation is not leveling off as quickly as we would like.

This measure is, of course, correct and fair.

Such payments are included in the budget until the end of the year.

The initiative will help support effective demand, which will contribute to economic recovery, ”added Maslennikov.

Vladimir Putin also noted that despite the significant amount of shortfalls in the income of the Social Insurance Fund and the Pension Fund, all obligations to support the population and provide medical care will be “unconditionally fulfilled” and fully funded from the budget.

At the same time, the head of state promised to ensure the outrunning growth of pensions.

“Next year, pensions in Russia will be indexed by 6.3%.

This is more than one and a half times higher than the projected inflation rate in 2021.

That is, in this direction we will act as we once said, formulated our goals, as promised to the citizens, ”Putin stressed.

• Vladimir Putin on the indexation of pensions

Tax reversal

As the president noted, in addition to supporting the population during the pandemic, the Russian authorities also took a number of measures to help business.

We are talking about soft loans, as well as tax breaks for companies and entrepreneurs.

In particular, insurance premiums were reduced for small and medium-sized enterprises.

Note that this benefit will become indefinite and will continue even after the crisis.

At the same time, the authorities took unprecedented measures to support IT companies in the form of a reduction in the profit tax rate from 20 to 3%.

“At the same time, the tax burden on super profits, primarily in the raw materials industries, on the contrary, has increased.

As a matter of fact, we are gradually doing this, including this leads to structural changes in the economy.

I think this is a justified, overdue step towards improving the efficiency and fairness of the domestic fiscal system, "Putin added.

According to the head of state, one of the key ones from the point of view of fiscal policy is the bill on increasing from January 1, 2021, the personal income tax (PIT) rate from 13 to 15% for citizens who earn more than 5 million rubles a year.

As the Russian leader emphasized, the initiative is “fair and morally sound,” and will also provide additional budget revenues in the amount of 60-62 billion rubles.

"All these funds will be targeted for the treatment and rehabilitation of children with severe, as well as rare, so-called orphan diseases, for the purchase of expensive drugs, medical devices, for high-tech operations, including abroad, if required," The president added.

• Vladimir Putin on raising the personal income tax rate for wealthy citizens

According to experts, the president's initiative means abandoning a flat taxation scale.

The corresponding system was introduced in Russia back in 2001 - since then, all citizens of the country have been paying personal income tax at a uniform rate of 13%.

“Raising the personal income tax rate for wealthy citizens may be the first step towards a progressive taxation scale.

Such a transition is a socially significant factor and can bring certain advantages for the country's economy, ”said Artyom Deev, head of the analytical department at AMarkets.

“Over time, the poorest Russians can reduce the personal income tax rate.

This will free up funds that citizens can spend.

The turnover of money in the economy will increase, consumption and demand will increase, which will have a positive effect on the development of the country, "the interlocutor of RT summed up.