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Today in Austria For Members

Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Monday

Emma Midgley
Emma Midgley - [email protected]
Today in Austria: A roundup of the latest news on Monday
Elderly women walk in Prater park on a sunny spring day in Vienna, Austria on April 15,2015.AFP PHOTO/JOE KLAMAR (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

Find out what's going on in Austria on Monday, with The Local's short roundup of today's news.

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Tax reforms unveiled in Austria

Austria’s social and ecological tax reforms have been unveiled on Sunday, 

  • From July 1, 2022, Austrians will have to pay an additional tax for their CO2 emissions. The starting price is 30 euros per tonne and will rise to 55 euros by 2025. From 2026 there should be an EU-wide CO2 emissions trading system.
  • Corporation tax will gradually be reduced to 23 percent, meaning Austria is moving towards the EU average 
  • There will also be a reduction in wage tax. The second income tax bracket will be reduced from 35 to 30 percent in July 2022, the third income tax bracket from 42 to 40 percent in July 2023. Annual income of up to 11,000 euros will remain tax-free. 
  • For those on low incomes, health insurance contributions will be reduced.
  • The family bonus will be increased from 1,500 to 2,000 euros per child and year on July 1, 2022 and single parents with an income of up to 12,000 euros per year will receive a child bonus of 450 euros per child instead of the previous 250 euros. In future, those families in which both partners work and both earn more than EUR 6,000 but less than EUR 12,000 will also be entitled to benefits.
  • In addition, an employee participation model is to be introduced, meaning employees can share in the profits of a company with up to 3,000 euros tax-free.

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Broadcaster ORF reports environmental organisations are “particularly unhappy” that there are no plans to abolish diesel privilege and reform the commuter allowance, as previously suggested.

They also say the CO2 price is set too low. However, groups such as the Chamber of Commerce have welcomed the tax reforms.

READ MORE: Austrian government unveils ‘eco’ tax reform

Increase in accidents in Tyrol

There has been an increase in accidents in the Tyrolean mountains over the summer. Since May 1st 2021, 51 people have lost their lives. The relatively new sports of climbing on Via Ferrata and mountain and e-biking have led to more fatalities and accidents, the Krone Zeitung reports, quoting rescue teams who say they have had the busiest summer for 30 years. 

Low vaccination rates cause concern over winter tourism

​​Low vaccination rates are causing concern amongst tourism professionals in advance of the winter season. According to the Der Standard newspaper only a little more than 60 per cent of the population in Austria are fully immunised.

Broadcaster ORF also reports that investment sums and rules for the coming season are expected to be announced in the coming days.

Austria's supermarkets are 'pandemic winners'

Austria's supermarkets have emerged as pandemic winners, according to a study cited in Wiener Zeitung this weekend. A study by the credit insurer Acredia, in collaboration with Euler Hermes, found that supermarkets in Austria experienced double the level of sales growth in 2020 than the European average. The European average saw sales increase by 5.3 percent, whilst in Austria that figure sat at 10.1 percent.

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Christoph Waltz celebrates his birthday

It’s Austrian actor Christoph Waltz’s 65th birthday today (Monday). The actor, originally from Vienna, is currently in cinemas playing the villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld in the new Bond film “No Time to Die”.

 

 

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