There are almost 4000 different stock exchanges in Austria. You need a lot of patience before the money ends up in your own account. “There is no uniform regulation in Austria,” says financing expert Samy el Makarem. Prominent example: the heating costs subsidy. In a live conversation with Conny Winiwarter, he denounces the lack of transparency in financing. The result: ignorant citizens and subsidies that are not exhausted. Makarem also criticizes the politicians: “They all have no idea about the economy.”
More experts are needed in the government. “So that you have a little more idea,” argues Makarem. Many would never have hired their own staff. So entrepreneurial expertise is meager. “We are sliding into a massive economic crisis,” Makarem predicted on his YouTube channel a year ago. In fact, the economy is far from doing well. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in particular are struggling to survive.
“They don’t lie about the money like Scrooge McDuck”
This is where the subsidies come in: companies and people “depend on subsidies”. The fact that many companies still have not seen much of the much-lauded Corona subsidies – and others may have to repay their subsidies – leads to threats to their survival: “Companies need the money, they are not lying around with their money.” like Dagobert Duck,” says the subsidy expert.
There is also the other side of the coin: “Subsidy fraud is the order of the day in Austria.” Prominent example: the senior associations affiliated with the ÖVP, who unjustly received Corona money. Nevertheless, according to Makarem, gratitude is also appropriate: “There are countries that have no money at all.”
Google as the first point of contact
450 million euros has been made available for the heating costs subsidy. “The money is now distributed within the states,” says Makarem. Gaining perspective takes effort. Submit applications vs. automatic payments: The regulations are different everywhere. Is it perhaps meant to be so chaotic? Makarem: “Sometimes I have the feeling. It’s very opaque.” His simple tip: the best information is to get from Google.
Get more out of your employee tax assessments
Currently, you can also record an additional amount of up to 500 euros in the employee tax assessment. In the video, the subsidy expert explains how it works and why automatic tax equalization costs you money.
You can see the entire interview with Samy el Makarem in the video above. KroneLIVE can be seen from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m.
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Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
