The Labour Ministry is preparing another amendment to the lex Ukraine law. Credit: JMK.
Prague, Sept 15 (CTK) – Refugees from Ukraine working in the Czech Republic will end up paying around CZK 12-15 billion in taxes this year, according to Labour Minister Marian Jurecka (KDU-CSL). At the beginning of this week, a total of 113,000 people with temporary protection had jobs.
The Labour Ministry is preparing another amendment to the lex Ukraine law. According to Jurecka, the change should extend the possibility of providing support and possibly modify the conditions of payment. The last time the rules were tightened was in July.
According to Interior Ministry data, there were 367,700 children and adults with protection visas in the country as of midnight last Sunday. The majority are women and children.
“As of Monday, there were more than 113,000 working people with temporary protection. The number has been growing steadily since the beginning of July, when we tightened the rules on support – that’s more than 9,000 extra people on the Czech labour market,” Jurecka said, adding that, according to average estimates, the state will receive around CZK 12-15 billion in taxes from working refugees this year.
“It is necessary to look at it also from this perspective of the very strong contribution of working Ukrainian refugees to the whole Czech society,” the Labor Minister said, noting that they are employed in companies, services, health and social care.
Support for refugee housing has changed since the beginning of July.
The state pays for emergency accommodation for five months for refugees who can work. After that, they must pay for it themselves or move. Only vulnerable groups, including children, the elderly and the disabled, continue to receive free accommodation. The solidarity allowance for people who have accommodated newcomers in their homes or in their spare flats has not been paid since July.
Only refugee households with an income below the living wage and the fixed housing costs will receive the humanitarian benefit.
Refugee aid organisations have criticised the reduction in aid. They warned of the loss of housing and the increase in illegal work.
“The system is set up very well, efficiently, motivationally. It is fair and just,” Jurecka said on Wednesday.
The refugees have temporary protection in the Czech Republic until the end of March 2024. The EU has agreed to extend the deadline by a year. The cabinet on Wednesday approved the sixth amendment to the lex Ukraine law, which provides protection until March 2025. This amendment will be submitted to Parliament for discussion and then to the president for signature.
The Labour Ministry is preparing the seventh amendment, which concerns social assistance. Jurecka said the law was to allow the provision of aid for another year. The Ministry will also evaluate data on the payment of humanitarian benefits and on the income of refugee households for the first months after the July changes were introduced, and possibly adjust the rules accordingly.
buj/dr/pvr
