All across the Western world, fertility rates are plummeting and now sit well below replacement rate.

The legacy media is barely reporting on this demographic winter. Meanwhile, most governments are content to paper over the crisis, propping up their economies via mass immigration, which of course comes with its own set of challenges.

There are few exceptions to this rule. However, last week, another nation joined the brave coalition of countries seeking homegrown solutions.

On Thursday, Polish President Karol Nawrocki enacted a law that eliminates income tax for parents raising two or more children.

The landmark tax reform applies to all families earning up to 140,000 zloty (around AU$59,000) per year, capturing most of Poland’s middle class. The law also extends to legal guardians and foster parents.

Nawrocki was elected President in June on a bold pro-family platform, which included the newly enacted reform, along with a pledge to abolish capital gains tax and make life more affordable for Polish families.

A practising Roman Catholic, husband, and father of three, Nawrocki has long promoted stable families and Poland’s Christian identity as cornerstones of national prosperity.

He has positioned himself as a “guardian of Polish culture,” explaining, “I stand for freedom and normality in culture… [and] the cultural heritage of the Republic.”

Hungary, the Trailblazer

Poland has modelled its pro-family tax reforms on nearby Hungary, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán in 2019 established his seven-point Family Protection Action Plan in a bid to boost fertility and revive Hungary’s national spirit.

Among the measures was an interest-free loan of up to HUF 10 million (approximately AU$48,000) for women under 40 marrying for the first time, which could be fully forgiven upon the birth of three children.

Families with three or more children were also made eligible for a government subsidy of up to HUF 2.5 million (approximately AU$11,700) to purchase a seven-seater vehicle.

And in the policy that inspired Poland, Hungarian mothers raising three or more children — whether biological or adopted — were granted a lifetime exemption from personal income tax.

Additionally, preferential loans, higher loan amounts, and mortgage subsidies were made available to families purchasing homes, while grandparents were made eligible for subsidised parental leave to assist with childcare.

Explaining the rationale behind his nation’s bold policies, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told Fox News, “We understand very well that if we are not able to turn around the negative trend of demographics… then we will definitely not win the future. And we want to win the future, so we need more kids.”

“So, the question in families whether to be brave enough to have another kid must not be an economic decision anymore,” he added.

The Keys to the Future

Hungary has faced stiff economic headwinds subsequent to the rollout of its family action plan, making an assessment of its benefits challenging.

However, the plan has likely forestalled a greater drop in fertility over recent years, and observers like Laurie DeRose, Assistant Professor of Sociology at the Catholic University of America, have argued that Hungary has laid the foundations for long-term, sustainable prosperity by incentivising stable marriages and families.

Elsewhere, I have written about the nation of Georgia successfully reversing its fertility collapse with encouragement from the national church.

In 2007, Patriarch Ilia II, head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, pledged to personally baptise and become the godfather to all children born third or later in a family.

What Poland, Hungary and Georgia share in common is an honest accounting of the demographic reality in front of them; a conviction that national prosperity depends on stable marriages and families; a willingness to pursue bold, even unconventional, solutions; and a belief that the strength of the nation — and the key to its future — is found within its own people.

Wouldn’t it be great if more Western leaders had the same confidence?

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.