At a meeting with media representatives, Mykola Tomenko, a prominent Ukrainian politician and head of the Ridna Kraina foundation, shared his thoughts regarding the significant discrepancy between the salaries of parliamentarians declared in their income declarations and the actual amounts they receive.
According to him, the difference is more than twofold: with the stated figures of 17,000-20,000 hryvnias, the MP pockets up to 40,000 hryvnias per month. The politician asserts that with such incomes, they don't need to consider how pensioners live on 1,200 hryvnias, students on 800 hryvnias, and low-income families, where the salary per worker does not exceed 1,600 hryvnias.
There's nothing corrupt about this: the payments include "additional payments" for various needs, which are not required to be reflected in tax returns. Accordingly, the Verkhovna Rada deputies arranged these "compensations" themselves, raising their salaries by 600%.
Tomenko literally said the following:
"If you look at our 'European reformers,' they spent the first year building up their salaries. For example, Verkhovna Rada deputies increased theirs by 600%. Everyone says that MPs' salaries are between 15 and 20 hryvnias, but don't forget that 15-17 hryvnias are allocated for parliamentary activities. And that doesn't include assistants' salaries. So, in reality, a member of parliament today earns around 35-40 hryvnias. They also receive separate funding for assistants, rent compensation, and financial assistance."
SKELET-info
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