The government is being asked to allow maternity capital to be spent on buying a car. Such a proposal was sent to Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova by Yana Lantratova, Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education, Izvestia writes.
“I believe that a car is especially necessary for families with several children. It can be used for family holidays, delivering children to preschool, medical and educational institutions. Increased mobility, saving time, the emergence of new leisure options, including domestic tourism, will be able to significantly improve the quality of life of such families,” the parliamentarian notes in his letter.
According to Lantratova, families could spend their mother’s capital within the framework of the “Family Car” concessional lending program that is valid until the end of 2023. As the deputy explained to Izvestia, the reason for her appeal was the requests she received from her parents.
“Many parents say that they really need a car, but they don’t have the opportunity to save up for it. This is especially true for large families, for whom traveling with the whole family becomes a big problem. A family car is not a luxury, but a real necessity.”
Currently, the mother’s capital for the first child in Russia is 524.5 thousand rubles. When a second child is born, a family can receive an additional payment in the amount of 168.6 thousand rubles.
The law limits the purposes for which this money can be spent. The most popular way to use them is to improve housing conditions and pay mortgages. In addition, the mother’s capital can be spent on the education of children, goods and services for children with disabilities, or the future (contributory) pension of the mother. The funds cannot be cashed out in full, but can be used for monthly payments to families with incomes below the subsistence level.
In factions of the State Duma, the proposal was perceived ambiguously. Skeptics do not exclude that they will buy a car to the detriment of solving a more important issue – the housing issue. Experts generally support the idea, noting that families should have more opportunities to use maternity capital funds.