COPENHANGEN: A tax plan announced earlier this month will affect Danish language courses as well as unemployment social welfare for foreign citizens in Denmark. Savings made from curbs on foreign citizens’ access to to social welfare could help to finance tax cuts, Finance Minister Kristian Jensen said in August 2017. Earlier in February, the government reached agreement with the Danish People’s Party (Dansk Folkeparti, DF) which will cut the country’s tax income by five billion kroner (670 million euros).
The tax plan will be financed in part by stricter welfare for foreign citizens living in Denmark, including payments for Danish language lessons and curbs on unemployment state support and insurance Since the tax reform plan was announced, foreign citizens in Denmark have considered the implications of losing benefits such as free Danish language courses and unemployment insurance.
Starting from July 1st this year, foreign citizens who study or work in Denmark will be charged 2,000 kroner (268 euros) for each module of Danish language at Lærdansk. The rule excludes refugees, whose attendance of language classes is mandatory. Director of Lærdansk Gerhard Korbo expects the numbers of students to fall once the change comes into effect.
“We have schools for almost only refugees, but [in] other schools refugees are fewer, for example, they form only 20 percent of the students, so 80 percent will have to pay,” Korbo told The Local.
A survey conducted by Lærdansk showed that 74 percent of students would refuse to pay for Danish language courses, while 10 percent said they would pay, according to Marianne Jensen, Principal of the Lærdansk school in Aarhus. It means more or less a 50 percent reduction of the total amount of students at the school,” Jensen said, explaining that this will also result in a significant reduction in the number of staff members at Lærdansk. Although Korbo said that Lærdansk is financially supported by municipalities, he expected that when fewer students are registered, Lærdansk will have to let go of some of the teachers.
