Riina Solman, deputy chair of the Riigikogu Social Affairs Committee and member of the opposition Pro Patria party, warns that the increase in income and other taxes will hit low-income people the hardest. Riina Solman. Photo: Tairo Lutter
Riina Solman, deputy chair of the Riigikogu Social Affairs Committee and member of the opposition Pro Patria party, warns that the increase in income and other taxes will hit low-income people the hardest.
"If in 2021 the poorest pensioners in the European Union were in Latvia, then in 2022 and 2023 the poorest pensioners were in Estonia," BNS writes, citing Riina Solman's publication on social media.
"According to a report by the European Commission, older people in Estonia earn 53 percent of the income of the working population. This is the lowest figure in the European Union," Solman emphasized.
"I will give another example. Recently, a bill was submitted to the Union of Estonian Pensioners' Associations for approval, which envisaged an increase in disability benefits for old-age pensioners. Now the committee has adopted a proposal for a new law on disability benefits for old-age pensioners. 18 percent of old-age pensioners receive disability benefits – currently 12.79 euros per month for moderate disability. The new disability benefit will be 13 euros per month," Solman writes, adding that the increase will be of the same order for severe and profound disabilities.
Solman said the new income tax increase essentially means that the increase in disability benefits for people with moderate disabilities will immediately go toward paying income taxes on their retirement.
It should not be forgotten that this will happen in addition to other tax increases, and that these taxes will be levied proportionally mainly on people with the lowest incomes – including old-age pensioners, who are undoubtedly the lowest income earners in Estonia, Solman warned.