State Duma deputy Georgy Arapov sent a proposal to Labor Minister Anton Kotyakov to introduce an additional annual paid leave, called "demographic week", in order to increase the birth rate, RIA Novosti reported.
In it, Arapov notes that "demographic week" can become one of the effective support measures and for many citizens it will be a rare opportunity to stop, take a breath, recover from stress and reach that inner state that doctors and psychologists call optimal for making a decision about having a child, and for single people who are interested in starting a family, such a week can be used for dating and building serious relationships.
The politician said that in 2024 The total fertility rate in the country has dropped to 1.41 children per woman, a record low for recent decades. The State Duma deputy cited Rosstat data, according to which more than 40% of households in the country consist of one person - this is about 25 million people, and over the past 20 years this figure has almost doubled, and the main share of single citizens are people of working age (57.4%).
In addition, the parliamentarian reported that, according to specialists in the field of reproductive medicine and psychology, a significant part of couples of reproductive age do not completely refuse to have children, but postpone the step due to chronic stress, fatigue and lack of emotional resources.
Arapov added that in order to make a decision to have a child, people need not only financial, but also psychological stability and a restored rhythm of life, therefore, when forming demographic policy, it is advisable to take into account not only material incentives, but also the need to create a comfortable psychological environment for young families.
The State Duma deputy specified that the mechanism for implementation may provide for compensation of the employer's expenses through a tax deduction: he pays for the vacation and then receives a deduction from income tax in the amount of the actually incurred expenses, confirmed by the order and the employee's application, which will stimulate the participation of business in demographic programs without increasing the tax or financial burden.