The federal government announced on Wednesday that it had approved the abolition of cold progression. Chancellor Karl Nehammer (ÖVP) stressed that the goal was to create “lasting aid”, which would reach 7.5 million people in Austria. Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) spoke of “historic steps” and “system improvements that fit exactly in time”. Kogler rejected criticism that eliminating cold progression, in particular, would ease the burden on medium-sized businesses and have little impact on low-income earners.
Nehammer spoke of a “next, big step” and emphasized that the goal was “that people have more net of the gross”: already next year 1.8 billion euros in emergency aid has been calculated, from 2024 this will be achieved by simply abolishing of the cold progression and the adjustment of tax rates a relief of 4.3 billion euros. “As a federal government, it was important for us to provide broad assistance.”
Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler said that in addition to abolishing cold progression, the valorization of social benefits and the greening of the tax system are “historic”: “The current turning point brings many difficult things in economic and social terms. As a small country we cannot abolish global fossil fuel-driven inflation on our own, but we can take countermeasures with the right social and economic direction.” Kogler spoke of “long-term, structural measures that contribute to greater predictability and economic reliability”.
The abolition of cold progression is “part of the general concept of unburdening the population, a structural change that will have a lasting effect,” Treasury Secretary Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) said. In a European comparison, they are “right at the front” when it comes to the size of the aid packages. It is also important that these are emergency measures that also support purchasing power.
Source: Krone
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