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Economist who proposed charging 40 thousand rubles for childlessness in Russia has spoken out about threats
The economist who proposed charging 40 thousand rubles for childlessness in Russia has issued a threat.
Zubets, who offered to take 40 thousand rubles from her if she did not have children, reported the threats.
The director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research, Alexey Zubets, who had previously proposed introducing a childlessness tax of 40 thousand rubles in Russia, complained about threats against him. His words are quoted by the Spas TV channel.
According to him, the reaction to initiatives related to the childless tax sometimes causes concern and "goes beyond politeness." As the economist noted, such a situation took him by surprise.
"It's certainly a little annoying that I have to clear my company email every morning of threats and insults that are sent to me. And I have to clear the channels that I manage, where all the economic data that I surmise is actually published," Zubets said. He found the attacks offensive.
Zubets' statement was previously commented on by Moscow's Children's Rights Commissioner Olga Yaroslavskaya. She compared the introduction of the tax to a "whiplash," emphasizing that it is important to change the philosophy of society and not to hit families that are already in a difficult life situation.
Initially, the idea to introduce a tax on childlessness was put forward by State Duma deputy Andrei Gurulev. After that, State Assembly speaker Vyacheslav Volodin warned legislators against erroneous plans, including the introduction of a tax on childlessness. As a result, the chairman of the Human Rights Committee, Alexander Fadeyev, doubted that the introduction of such a tax would contribute to an increase in the birth rate.
The Kremlin said it did not yet know the details of the proposed tax on the childless. They noted that similar measures were used in Soviet times, and added: "It is unlikely to have any impact on the demographic situation."
Meanwhile, the birth rate in Russia has reached a critical level for the country's future, said Dmitry Peskov, the head of state's press secretary. The number of women of childbearing age in Russia will continue to decline until 2046, said Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova.