Working families in two towns in Germany will get government help with housework. towns are in German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The government decided to test new project to help people, especially women, who work overtime. plan is to give vouchers to employees who work extra hours. employees can use vouchers to get help with housework, such as cleaning, laundry, ironing, vacuuming and dusting. The idea behind the project is to help support family life and to reduce shadow economy. The shadow economy is when people pay for goods and services in cash but do not pay tax on them. This means the government loses lot of money.
Government spokesman Christian Rauch explained more about project. He said: "Our experience shows that well-qualified women work fewer hours than they would like because they want to carry out household duties in addition to family responsibilities. If these women increase their working hours by five to ten hours and receive voucher from us, they can afford quality help with housework." He added that new system would also create more jobs for people in household-help industry and create more tax for government. Another spokesman, Dr. Ralf Kleindiek, said: "With professional help in home, it is easier to balance work and family life."
