Under the pressure of the opposition, the coalition gave up on the group bill for tax increases, but the fight for the well-being of families with many children continues, says Riigikogu Deputy Chairman Jüri Ratas.
Regarding the inquiries and the handing over of drafts that filled the working days of the Riigikogu in the last week, the chairman of the political party stated Jüri Ratasthat obstruction has always been the opposition’s right to draw attention to its views and to pressure the government to hold a meaningful parliamentary debate.
“If the coalition wants to cut family allowances and adopt large-scale tax changes as a group initiative, the opposition cannot stand idly by. A small victory has been achieved for the opposition today, when the government decided to divide the tax reform cluster bill into four. The Center Party is of the opinion that all tax changes must be discussed separately and thoroughly. At the same time, in our opinion, it is unacceptable that the government’s tax package worsens the livelihood of low-income people the most,” emphasized Jüri Ratas.
According to Jüri Ratas, the ball is in the coalition’s goal. “From the point of view of the Center Party, the obstruction can be solved quickly if the government simply withdraws the bill reducing the support for large families. It is not substantively or legally reasonable if the Riigikogu adopts a decision to increase family allowances before the elections, and the same government wants to cut them by 2/3 immediately after the elections. It should be remembered that the draft law increasing subsidies for families with children was almost unanimously adopted in the parliament less than half a year ago,” said Jüri Ratas.
“Unfortunately, the coalition has not shown readiness for any substantive compromise on the issue of child and family allowances. The Center Party has repeatedly submitted a proposal to create a cross-party working group to essentially discuss matters related to child and family allowances, but the coalition has refused this,” Ratas said regarding possible compromise solutions.
