The Bill allowing additional pay to teachers passed the first reading

An Act was passed

The Act on the Ratification of the Convention between the Government of the Republic of Estonia and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the Elimination of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income and the Prevention of Tax Evasion and Avoidance and the Protocol thereto (368 SE), initiated by the Government, was passed. It ratifies the convention aiming to facilitate investments between the countries.

Compared to national legislative acts, an agreement for the elimination of double taxation provides investors with greater legal certainty with regard to the elements of the tax system that are regulated by the agreement. The convention limits the income taxes that the country of the source of income can establish for the residents of the other country, ensures equal treatment of persons, and eliminates potential double taxation. The convention will enter into force when both countries have ratified it and have notified each other of the completion of relevant procedures. The convention will begin to be applied from the first day of January next following the year in which it enters into force.

As at the beginning of 2024, Estonia had agreements for avoidance of double taxation in force with 62 countries.

57 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of passing the Act and there were two abstentions.

Four Bills passed the second reading

The Bill on Amendments to the Preschool Child Care Institutions Act, the Vocational Educational Institutions Act and the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act (231 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. It will allow to exclude from school and preschool the children of Ukrainian war refugees who have left Estonia without informing the school or preschool.

At present a child who has left Estonia and who is no longer participating in teaching and education activities can be excluded from a preschool or school only on the basis of the request of a parent of the child. The Bill provides for an additional basis in Acts. It will also enable a child to be excluded from a pre-school child care institution, a general education school as well as a vocational educational institution without the request of a parent if the child is not actually staying in Estonia and the data on their place of residence in Estonia are not in the population register.

In addition, the Bill will include in the Preschool Child Care Institutions Act and the Vocational Educational Institutions Act a comprehensive list of the bases for the exclusion from preschool or vocational school. No such list or clear bases for exclusion have been provided for in these Acts at present.

The Bill on Amendments to the Electronic Communications Act and the Nature Conservation Act (392 SE), initiated by the National Defence Committee, passed the second reading. Its aim is to amend the legislation so that a danger area-based danger message could be transmitted not only during emergency response exercises, but also during military trainings, i.e. reservist training, large-scale exercise, and additional reservist training. The additional basis will allow for better preparation for responding to events threatening the life and health of people or national security also in the case when the exercise is organised with the aim of preparing the military defence of the country.

Another important amendment is that, in order to carry out military training more efficiently and to achieve the national defence objective, it will be possible to practice certain real capabilities, such as the installation and removal of engineer bridges on rivers. The Bill will create a legal basis for the Environmental Board to grant consent to the Defence Forces using the limited management zones of shores and banks for carrying out reservist trainings.

Two motions to amend the Bill had been submitted by deadline.

Tiit Maran from the Social Democratic Party took the floor during the debate.

The Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group moved to vote on the motions to amend. 47 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the first motion to amend and 14 were against. 48 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of the second motion to amend and 14 were against. The Bill therefore passed the second reading.

The Bill on Amendments to the Tax Information Exchange Act, the Taxation Act and the Income Tax Act (379 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the second reading. The amendment to a European Union directive transposed with it will impose an obligation on multinational groups to disclose income tax information in a separate report. The information subject to disclosure involves the income tax paid and the necessary background information by country.

The amendment will concern multinational groups operating in Europe whose revenue exceeds for two consecutive financial years a total of 750 million euro. The Bill will solve the transposition of the directive with a legislative amendment that will give the tax authority the power to disclose online the reports they have already received. The deadline for the transposition of the directive was June last year.

The Bill will also transpose the EU directive on ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational enterprise groups and large-scale domestic groups. EU Member States were due to transpose that directive by the end of last year but for smaller states with less than twelve ultimate parent entities of multinational groups a derogation has been provided according to which such countries will not have to apply the minimum tax during the first six years, that is, before 2030, in order to reduce the administrative burden. As there are five ultimate parent companies of multinational groups in Estonia as of 2022, Estonia will also apply this derogation.

The Bill on Amendments to the Income Tax Act (337 SE), initiated by the Finance Committee, passed the second reading. It will change the conditions for deducting training expenses from the taxable income of a natural person and will extend the possibility to make donations and gifts to support Ukraine exempt from income tax.

The Bill will also change the right to deduct the expenses related to the extracurricular education of young people in the case of students over 18 years of age. According to the Bill, the expenses of studying at a hobby centre can be considered training expenses until the student graduates from basic school or secondary school or completes their formal vocational education or is excluded from the list of the school. Currently expenses paid for studies at a hobby centre can be deducted in case a person studying at a hobby centre is below 18 years of age on 1 January of the calendar year of the payment of the training expenses.

The Bill will extend until 31 December 2025 the possibility to make donations and gifts exempt from income tax for the purpose of maintaining the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and for providing and organising humanitarian aid purposefully. Resident legal persons will be able to make donations and gifts free of income tax to NPO Estonian Refugee Council, NPO Mondo, the Ukrainian Cultural Centre, the National Defence Promotion Foundation, the Estonian Red Cross, the Estonian Voluntary Rescue Association and NPO Tallinn Old Town Rotary Club. According to a proposal of the Finance Committee, the amendment will be implemented retroactively as of January 2024.

NGO Slava Ukraini will be omitted from the list of associations from next year.

A Bill passed the first reading

The Bill on Amendments to the State Budget for 2024 (389 SE), initiated by the Government, passed the first reading. It will make amendments to this year’s state budget in order to raise the minimum salary rate for teachers from 1,803 euro to 1,820 euro. For this purpose, 9.27 million euro will be directed to the local government support fund in the state budget. A 20 per cent differentiation part will be added to the minimum salary for teachers. The calculated average of teachers’ salary will increase by a total of 6.6 per cent to 2,184 euro.

The funds for the additional pay for teachers were found from the budgets of the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, the Ministry of Regional Affairs and Agriculture, the Ministry of the Interior, and the Ministry of Social Affairs. The total volume of the state budget will not be changed.

Vadim Belobrovtsev from the Estonian Centre Party Group and Tanel Kiik from the Social Democratic Party Group took part in the debate.

Three draft Resolutions were dropped from the proceedings

The Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a proposal to the Government of the Republic to enhance the exercise of supervisory control over the Prosecutor’s Office” (280 OE), submitted by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, did not pass the first reading. It was intended to make a proposal to the Government to amend the Prosecutor’s Office Act in order to enhance the supervisory control over the Prosecutor’s Office. The explanatory memorandum points out that the aim is to provide in legislation that the Ministry of Justice has the right to exercise supervisory control over the Prosecutor’s Office without narrowing restrictions and to extend the range of persons who have the right to submit an application for the initiation of disciplinary proceedings.

Martin Helme from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group took the floor during the debate.

At the final vote, 17 members of the Riigikogu voted in favour of the draft Resolution. With that, the draft Resolution did not gain enough support and was dropped from the proceedings.

The Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a proposal to the Government of the Republic to prepare and restore militarised border guard as a separate institution” (274 OE), submitted by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, did not pass the first reading. It was intended to make a proposal to the Government to draw up and submit to the Riigikogu a Bill in order to restore militarised border guard as a separate institution as well as to define the tasks for war time and crisis time and to establish necessary reserve units and to acquire equipment.

Leo Kunnas from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group took the floor during the debate.

At the final vote, 15 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of the draft Resolution. With that, the draft Resolution did not gain enough support and was dropped from the proceedings.

The Draft Resolution of the Riigikogu “Making a Proposal to the Government of the Republic to amend the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act” (279 OE), submitted by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, did not pass the first reading.  It was intended to make a proposal to the Government to draw up and submit to the Riigikogu a Bill on Amendments to the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act in order to establish that the language of instruction for children of Ukrainian war refugees be Ukrainian when they study in Estonia.

Anti Poolamets from the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group took the floor during the debate.

At the final vote, 15 members of the Riigikogu were in favour of the draft Resolution. With that, the draft Resolution did not gain enough support and was dropped from the proceedings.

It was impossible to deliberate two Bills

The first reading of two Bills could not be held due to the absence of the presenter. They were the Bill on Amendments to the Police and Border Guard Act (370 SE), initiated by Member of the Riigikogu Kalle Grünthal, which was intended to amend the text of the oath of office of police officer set out in the Police and Border Guard Act, and the Bill on Amendments to the Security Authorities Act (330 SE), initiated by the Estonian Conservative People’s Party Group, which was intended to give the Military Intelligence Centre of the Defence Forces the status of a security authority in order to ensure effective functioning of the intelligence and counter-intelligence of the Defence Forces in the   deteriorated security situation.

The sitting ended at 6.48 p.m.

Verbatim record of the sitting (in Estonian)

Video recording will be available to watch later on the Riigikogu YouTube channel.

Riigikogu Press Service
Maris Meiessaar
+372 631 6353, +372 5558 3993
maris.meiessaar@riigikogu.ee
Questions: press@riigikogu.ee

Link uudisele: The Bill allowing additional pay to teachers passed the first reading

Source: Parliament of Estonia