The best interests of the Hungarian people, the strengthening of families and the development of the economy are at the centre of the government’s way of thinking.
At the 3rd Budapest Demographic Summit, Finance Minister Mihály Varga stressed that we must build a country where people feel safe, where work leads to increased welfare, and where services assisting the education of children and families are satisfactory.
The Minister drew attention to the fact that only a dynamically improving economy can create the foundations for taking a step forward in the area of families and the education of children. This is why it is important that Hungary is doing better and better, and in the second quarter of 2019, too, the economy’s performance increased dynamically, by 5.2 per cent. In harmony with this, Hungarian families can expect increased job security, a rise in wages and a reduction in taxes.
Speaking about the government’s measures seeking to support families, Mr Varga said thanks to Hungary’s family-friendly tax regime, in the past eight years families have been able to avail themselves of tax and contribution benefits worth some HUF 1,900 billion in total. Additionally, in 2020 there will be HUF 1,293 billion more in Hungary’s central budget for supporting families than in 2010.
The Minister further pointed out that the Family Protection Action Plan launched this year is increasingly popular. As part of this, more than 36,000 families have already applied for some form of family support. Over 23,000 young couples have applied for the baby expecting support, 11,000 families have requested the allowance for the car purchases of large families, and there is also increasing interest in the cancellation of the mortgage debts of families with children.
The Minister highlighted that next year more than HUF 82 billion will be available for such purposes. He said from the 2020/2021 school year textbooks will be free for all children, and the government wishes to help the return of young parents to work with the continuous extension of the number of available creche places and a monthly creche support of HUF 40,000.
(MTI)
