Czechs abused CZK 100mil in social benefits in 2008

větší obrázekZdroj: Aktuálně.cz

Prague - Social benefits that the state evaluated in an audit as "illegitimately claimed" reached CZK 103 million last year. It is by almost CZK 20 million and by CZK 30 million more than in 2007 and 2006, respectively. People who were drawing the benefits illegitimately according to the audit have to pay them back to the state.

According to the statistics of the audit that are available to Aktuálně.cz, the largest sums - CZK 54.9 million and CZK 20.7 million - were paid out in the case of child benefits and social subsidies, respectively.

31,000 people were not entitled to benefits

While the total sum of overpayment rises every year and it has exceeded the above-mentioned CZK 100 million, the number of cases when the law on state social support was violated has been falling in a year-on-year comparison.

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Last year, labour offices recorded 30,800 infringements of the law (in 2007 there were 31,700 infringements and some 3,000 more the year before).

A long-term statistics shows that the state has biggest problems with payments of social subsidies. An audit has revealed 9,487 cases when the benefits were paid out before all necessary requirements were fulfilled.

Nevertheless, paying the money back can be problematic in this category of benefits. The aim of the subsidy is namely to help families with low income to cover their costs connected with securing their children's needs. Families with income lower than two-times subsistence level are entitled to the benefits. Higher benefits are paid out for example to parents of students and physically disabled children with low incomes and to single parents.

Another category of most often "abused" benefits last year were child benefits (in almost 9,000 cases), which are paid out to families with income lower than 2.4 times the subsistence level.

Besides benefits paid out to people who were not entitled to them, there has been also a dramatic increase in the number of cases when labour offices fined individuals and companies for errors in submitted documents.

In 5,148 cases when people turned in fake income statements, health or student forms, the state levied fines worth CZK 281, 400. In 2007, there were only 3,550 such cases and the total amount of fines only slightly exceeded CZK 32,000.

State social benefits
dependant on income level:
- child benefits
- social benefits
- social subsidies
- housing benefits

not dependant on income level:
parental benefits
- orphan benefits
- foster care benefits
- birth allowance
- death allowance

Adapted by Prague Daily Monitor.