Index – Abroad – How much do new German parliamentarians earn?

Germany’s lower house, now expanded to 740 members, is the second most populous parliament in the world after China. Members receive their salaries from the German state, which is enough not to take a second job. However, man is mortal, and surely the Germans also worship the little one; However, these options are now very limited.

Although the decision of the Constitutional Court does not prevent them from obtaining a subsidiary position. This is simpler for those who have their own business, such as attorneys, business advisors or tax experts. But for someone who was a civil servant or a teacher, perhaps a police officer, before being elected, it is almost impossible to find a stranger in his previous job. However, their time does not allow for this either.

The relevant law clearly states that members must be paid a salary that guarantees their independence so that they do not have to take up another position. Therefore, the current Parliamentary salary is adjusted to the average salaries of Supreme Court justices and adjusted for annual inflation on 1 July each year. Currently, this is a monthly total 1012 EUR That is, they still have to tax it.

They also get a fixed rate at which they have to ensure that the work is done properly i.e. they maintain their desks and pay their employees. Members usually have to work in two places, one in Berlin, the Bundestag, and the other to maintain an office with staff in their constituency. It currently covers monthly 4560 EUR This is also reviewed annually.

The Berlin Parliament usually meets for twenty weeks of the year, when attendance is highly recommended. Members will be provided with a 54-square-meter office with the necessary infrastructure, a free annual railway ticket, and will also be compensated for domestic flights. In addition to the per capita annual 12 thousand euros They can spend on office equipment, which includes the purchase of a laptop or mobile phone for the company. However, this also had to be settled in the wake of the Mount Blanc scandal of 2009. That year, about a hundred members ordered expensive pens worth 68,000 euros from the desktop supply frame, which caught the speaker floor, and in 2010 already authorized the purchase of all element separately. Since then, the purchase of luxury goods that are available at such a cost has disappeared.

Separate additional revenue must already be reported

It is already necessary to notify the Bundestag office or secretariat in the event that a person receives additional income. In the now-defunct semester, a third of MPs mentioned additional income in addition to their salaries. A trade union organization IG Metall recently conducted a survey that found that 62 percent of Liberal Democrat MPs, FDP, and 43 percent of CDU/CSU MPs had had an incidental income in the past period. Four members of Angela Merkel’s party, while one representative of the Free Democratic Party, reported an additional income of more than 1 million euros per year.

According to this, MEPs must declare each euro cent if they receive more than one thousand euros per month or three thousand euros per year. At the same time, corporate ownership, which must be reported at more than five percent, is now also subject to reporting.

What about gifts?

Until tightened, almost any gift could be accepted by German members of parliament, assuming they did not ask for a favor in return. Bribery and corruption have so far been punished. From now on, members will not be able to receive financial support or request money for speeches given by members in the course of their duties. two hundred euros They could not accept a more valuable gift. If they have obtained it, they must hand it over to the President of the Bundestag, or if they do so, they must pay an amount equal to the value of the gift for the treasury.

How much do Hungarian deputies earn?

He has already dealt with the pointer with the subject. in parliament The law currently in force Under which a member of Parliament is entitled to a monthly allowance.

The monthly parliamentary allowance for the period from March 1 of the current year to the end of February of the following year is three times the average gross monthly income of the national economy from the previous year for the current year, officially published by the Central Statistical Office (CSO).

– He reads the law. The annual increment and correction of member salaries are always due in March, the previous year’s average monthly gross salary being taken into account.

a Civil Society Organizations Report According to the average gross profit for the year 2020 403600 It was HUF, which is 9.7 percent more than the previous year. So this spring, all that happened is to use that amount to recalculate members’ salaries, which remain in effect until the end of next February.

• A representative’s basic salary is three times the average gross salary of HUF 403,600: monthly gross 1200 210 800 fort.
• A member of a permanent committee or a committee representing nationalities receives 1.2 times the basic salary: gross 1 452960 fort.
• A member of the Legislative Committee or two committees receives at least 1.4 times the basic salary: gross 1 695 120 fort.
• The leader of a political group, i.e. the leader of a political group, receives twice the basic salary: gross 600 2 421600 fort. The Deputy Group Leader receives 1.7 times the basic salary: Gross 2058360 fort.
• The Speaker of the National Assembly receives 2.7 times the basic salary: the total 3269160 fort. The vice presidents double the total basic salary 600 2 421600 fort.

(Cover Photo: MEPs meet in the Bundestag in Germany on January 27, 2021. Photo: Sean Gallup/Getty Images)