Number Of Working Poor Rises Drastically In Hungary
- 22 Nov 2018 7:02 AM
- Hungary Matters
The number of people with jobs living in poverty has doubled in the past seven years in Hungary to nearly 450,000, or 10% of job-holders, green opposition LMP’s Antal Csárdi said, citing Eurostat data.
The number of working poor grew fastest in Hungary in EU comparison, he said. No work-based society can be created without “decent” wages, Csárdi said.
The government uses “doctored” data, emphasising the average wage, while nearly three-quarters of employees earn below that marker.
High inflation further erodes their income, he said. The Central Statistical Office reported that the average gross monthly wage in Hungary stood at 321,200 forints (EUR 998.7) in August.
Csárdi called for scrapping the flat personal income tax system “which only benefits the top 20% of society”.
He said it should be replaced with progressive taxation, “a fair and sustainable tax rate for people with average income” and a tax-free minimum wage. Those measures would boost consumption and so benefit the economy, he said.
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