(1) The Members of the Folketing shall receive a basic fee, cf. subsection (2) and a cost allowance to cover the costs incurred in connection with serving as a Member of the Folketing, cf. subsection (3). Every Member of the Folketing shall be legally obliged to accept the basic fee and the cost allowance.
(2) The basic fee is an amount equival ent to the pay in income bracket 51 (civil servants’ pay bracket) at all times.
(3) The cost allowance totals an annual amount of DKK 45,000 for Members elected in Denmark and an annual amount of DKK 60,000 for Members elected in Greenland and in the Faroe Islands.
(4) An ordinary Member with a permanent supplementary residence in the Copenhagen area may be granted a housing allowance if the distance and the total daily commuting time using public transport between the residence and the Folketing makes it reasonable for the Member to be able to stay overnight in Copenhagen. This allowance totals an annual amount of up to DKK 70,000, of which up to DKK 50,000 is paid towards regular housing expenses against documentation. Such Member may receive DKK 20,000 towards expenses in connection with double house-keeping, without documentation. Members for whom the Folketing provides free housing and who fulfil the conditions for housing allowances will receive an annual amount of DKK 20,000 only. Regular housing allowances in pursuance of subsection (2) may be granted for up to three months after the membership has ceased.
(5) The cost allowance in subsection (3) and the housing allowance in subsection (4) shall not be included in the taxable income. Expenses in connection with parliamentary work, including housing and other expenses are non-deductible in the taxable income. The assessed value of free residence provided to Members by the Folketing, cf. the fourth sentence of subsection (4) shall not be included in the taxable income.
(6) The cost allowance in subsection (3) and the housing allowance in subsection (4) are stated at their October 1999 level. The amounts shall be adjusted at the same percentage changes (to one decimal place) as the percentage changes in the overall consumer price index and the housing unit consumer price index, respectively, using July 1999 as a basis. The adjusted amounts are to be rounded to amounts in whole DKK. Adjustments shall take place on the basis of the indices for January and July for the periods April 1st to September 30th and October 1st to March 31st. The first adjustment shall take place as of April 1st 2000.
(7) Members who do not receive housing allowances under subsection (4) may be indemnified for their hotel accommodation expenses in the Copenhagen area to such extent as may be specified further, in connection with meetings being held as part of their parliamentary work.
(8) The Parliamentary Standing Order Committee shall lay down detailed rules for the Members’ right to receive housing and other allowances according to subsection (4), guidelines for documentation requirements for regular housing expenses and computation of allowances for owner-occupied dwellings and other expenses, cf. second sentence of subsection (4), rules for regular housing expenses after the membership has ceased according to the last sentence of subsection (4) and detailed rules for Members’ indemnification for their hotel accommodation expenses in the Copenhagen area under subsection (7). The Parliamentary Standing Order Committee may furthermore lay down rules for covering to a certain extent the hotel accommodation expenses of a member participating in meetings in the multimember constituency where he stands if justified by the distance between his or her address and the multimember constituency.
