Finland Times

 

File Photo – Lehtikuva.

Beneficiaries of social support should be treated more equally and rent hikes should come to a stop, said National Social Insurance Institution (Kela) Director General Liisa Hyssälä in an interview with the newspaper consortium Lännen Media.

 

Hyssälä pointed out that the annual basic income support of an unemployed person living alone is 3,500-4,000 euros less than that of a pensioner living alone. The income gap is a result of better housing support for the pensioners as well as the difference in tax treatment between the two groups. 

 

“Is a poor pensioner poorer than a poor unemployed [person] or a poor family with children,” asked Hyssälä.

 

The Kela director general also addressed the issue of housing allowance and the activities of landlords. According to Hyssälä, if necessary, a line should be drawn regarding profiteering by landlords through taxation or regulation.

 

Since 2008, the real housing allowance expenditure has increased by 600 million euros. Last year 1.7 billion euros of tax money was used in various housing allowances.

 

Hyssälä said an estimated 300 million euros of income support goes to offset housing expenses and the landlords are aware of this.