The majority of Russians opposed the "parasitism tax," according to a survey.
More than half of Russians, 59%, did not support the idea of introducing a "tax on parasites," according to a survey conducted by the VTsIOM analytical center. The idea was previously proposed by the Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation.
The older the respondents, the higher the support for this proposal. Among the Zoom generation (in this case, those born after 2001), 76% oppose it. Among those aged 58 to 77, only 47% oppose it; 44% support it, and the rest were undecided.
This tax is also called the "unemployment tax" or the "housewife tax," and the topic is raised from time to time. In 2016, the head of the Ministry of Labor, Maxim Topilin proposed Initially, the ministry would charge 20 rubles a year to unemployed citizens. According to him, "this is normal, even a little." To achieve this, the ministry planned to identify those "who have income but don't pay anything, don't participate in anything." The agency even start the draft law was developed, but it did not gain any momentum.
In May of this year, Alexander Safonov, a professor at the Financial University, cited a different figure: 2,9 rubles per month.
The tax is perceived by Russians as a measure that could affect everyone, which raises personal concerns, explained VTsIOM expert Stepan Lvov. Furthermore, he noted, it appears to be the state's attempt to profit from the problem rather than solve it. Experts also note that the introduction of such a tax is illegal and appears "downright archaic."
The State Duma believes that instead of a tax, the focus should be on removing wages from the gray and black zones—for example, by ensuring the transparency of financial flows.
The fight against social parasites is a return to the USSR. From 1961 until the collapse of the Soviet Union, a decree was in effect: those who were unemployed for four months a year were subject to criminal prosecution. Social parasites were sentenced to up to five years of forced labor, and their property was confiscated.
