The disbursement of the climate bonus and the anti-inflation compensation has been completed. In seven weeks, four billion euros was distributed among 8.6 million people. The 500 euros for adults and 250 euros for children were handed over 7.4 million times by bank transfer and 1.2 million times as vouchers. It was the first time in the history of the republic that a transfer was paid to everyone in Austria, project manager Wolfgang Otter summarized on Wednesday.
On January 1, 2023, another data extract will be made to include all those who have only met the payment obligations – at least six months of residence – at a later date. In the course of the second wave of payments in February 2023, those people who did not move their primary residence to Austria until the first half of 2022 have just been born or whose immigration status is still being clarified by the Ministry of the Interior. . Anyone who has not yet received the money is requested to contact the Ministry of Climate Protection.
Special cases should be completed by early 2023
For some EU citizens or third-country nationals, the residence status must be checked again via the Aliens Register of the Ministry of the Interior. The Ministry of Climate Protection expects to be able to handle these special cases with the next batch in early 2023. Homeless people who are registered in Austria also receive the climate bonus. The fact that the deceased also received the climate bonus is regulated by law, explains the project manager of the Ministry of Climate Protection. As with the pension, the entitlement only expires when the death certificate is drawn up and it is deleted from the registry office.
The climate bonus is at the heart of the eco-social tax reform and is intended to reward climate-friendly behaviour. As part of the government’s €6 billion anti-inflation package, this was increased from the original €100 to €200 to €250 for this year, depending on the residential area, with an additional €250 for inflation compensation. The regular, spread climate bonus will be paid out again from 2023.
Payment via FinanzOnline and PVA
An application is not necessary to receive the climate bonus, the payment is automatic. If you have entered a payment account number in FinanzOnline or receive a payment from the pension insurer, the money will be deposited into your account. “During the processing of the climate bonus, the largest data test in the republic was conducted by processing a total of nearly nine million registration data and nearly eight million account data,” said Otter. Errors have been corrected and data quality improvements have been made.
The Climate Bonus hotline has been approached about 300,000 times. Every day 5000 to 6000 calls were handled. About 200 employees of the ministry have been trained in the climate bonus service. Swiss Post has completed 1.27 million shipments of climate bonuses since September. All Post employees who were involved in the processing (these were mainly deliverers and branch employees, please note) are rewarded with a bonus of 75 to 100 euros for their performance, says Barbara Kilian, climate bonus project manager at Post.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
