Kudrin proposes to increase the minimum wage and unemployment benefits during the crisis
The minimum wage and unemployment benefit in Russia should be increased during the crisis period. The country’s financial system will withstand such a burden even with the measures to support the economy and citizens announced earlier by President Vladimir Putin. This opinion was expressed by the head of the accounting chamber Alexey Kudrin.
“It may be necessary to make the minimum wage much higher, and then a year later, when the situation stabilizes, bring it to a level that should not encourage people to remain unemployed. For a critical period of this year or several months, I would even increase unemployment benefits now, ” Kudrin said in an interview with RBC TV on April 13.
According to him, the country’s financial system is able to cope with such a load, despite the increased load in the last 2-3 months.
At the same time, the head of the accounting chamber proposes to allocate an additional 2-3 trillion rubles to support business.
“I would go to subsidize the company’s salary. It is necessary to choose the principles of how to do this, and to look, perhaps, in the West. Different countries with their own characteristics do this. This is a lot of money, it can be hundreds of billions of rubles, it can also be more than a trillion, ” Kudrin concluded.
Earlier, on April 13, it became known that the government will present additional measures to support the economy to the President this week.
On April 8, Putin held a video conference on countering the spread of the coronavirus.
During the meeting, the head of state gave a number of instructions, including preparing medical institutions to receive patients with COVID-19, additional payments to doctors, business support measures, as well as payments to the unemployed and families with children.
For small and medium-sized businesses, the amount of social contributions will be reduced from 30 to 15% and a six-month delay will be introduced for insurance payments and all taxes, except VAT. The regions will make a list of system-forming enterprises that will receive additional support.
Putin assured that the authorities will support the sectors of the economy affected by the coronavirus, the labor market, the health care system and citizens in General.
