Association of families warns of "demographic disaster"

Willingness to have children will decrease and Hungary might face a "demographic disaster" when austerity measures become effective, said Endre Szabó, president of the National Association of Large Families (NOE) in Budapest on Tuesday.

According to Szabó, the government's austerity measures affect large families (nagycsaládok; families raising three or more children) more than others. The hike of the general sales tax (áfa), the changes in the laws on taxing, the introduction of bed, visitation and box fees in health care - depending on the number of children they are raising - can mean that the family will have several ten thousand forints more expenses in a month than earlier. The áfa hike affects large families more than avergare families, because they buy more clothes and food, Szabó explained.

The NOE proposes that taxes of products harmful to health such as cigarettes and alcohol should be spent on health care. The association's other suggestion is that the government collects social security from state companies which they owe in order to have a greater revenue.

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