The imbalance at Kika/Leiner also reached the National Council on Wednesday. In an “urgent application”, the SPÖ called for a job guarantee for workers. The ÖVP chose a different approach: they refer the dismissed to the AMS.
Making millions and giving nothing back? SPÖ deputy Julia Herr finds this “incredible”. That is why the social democrats in the National Council demanded a job guarantee for all Kika/Leiner employees.
In an “urgent application”, the SPÖ also demanded the refund of back taxes and the filing of damages claims against all companies that can be attributed to the investor René Benko.
Because for Benko, the deal between Kika and Leiner was a lucrative business. It was always foreseeable that he was only interested in real estate and not the furniture business, Herr said.
ÖVP denies influence
She was particularly outraged that Benko may have been given a “tax deal” by the Treasury Department, according to a Falter report. In the direction of the ÖVP, the SP MP said: “For their millionaire friends, they have again ensured that they do not have to pay taxes.” The ÖVP attacked Herr for alleged interventions for the entrepreneur.
With regard to the events surrounding Signa’s acquisition of Kika and Leiner in 2018, a “Falter” report is stirring up new dust. As the newspaper reports, citing documents from the Public Prosecutor’s Office for Economic Affairs and Corruption (WKStA), which are also available to the “Krone”, the then head of the department of the Ministry of Finance and the current head of the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets ( FMA), Eduard Müller would be in favor of Benkos intervening in another tax issue in the course of the acquisition.
According to “Falter”, Müller is accused by the statement of a high-ranking employee of the tax authorities. The WKStA declined to comment on a possible investigation against Müller. The Treasury Department also declined to comment on Wednesday. The ministry pointed to the fiscal secrecy obligation.
Sir: Kika/Leiner not an isolated case
Kika/Leiner was not an isolated case, Mr. pointed out that AUA employees also had to go after state aid. The SPÖ position has always been that economic aid should not flow unconditionally – but in exchange for guarantees.
Now probably 1,900 employees would lose their jobs and the largest creditor is the Republic of Austria: “So it is also about taxpayers’ money in the millions.” Herr demanded of the ÖVP: “Sit down as vehemently as you would for one of the richest people in the world, for the employees.”
ÖVP refers employees to the AMS
The answers to the “urgent request” did not come, as hoped, from the chancellor, but from his secretary of state. Claudia Plakolm (ÖVP), de facto responsible for youth and community service, assured that every effort would be made to avoid harm to taxpayers and to place workers in the labor market according to their skills and interests. Several companies have already confirmed withdrawals.
Plakolm wants employees to quickly find security again by providing them with extensive support. The AMS is already in talks with the Ministry of Economic Affairs to quickly find new perspectives for the employees.
Economy Minister Martin Kocher (ÖVP) also wants to “do everything in his power” to support the Kika/Leiner employees. One of them is in talks with the AMS and the social partners. The AMS is very well prepared for this, with almost 20,000 retail job openings reported. Kocher also announced a central contact at the federal level.
ÖVP and FPÖ criticize SPÖ
Christian Stocker (ÖVP) and Christian Hafenecker (FPÖ) in turn criticized the Social Democrats, saying that former SPÖ chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer was the chairman of several supervisory boards of Signa Holding. According to Hafenecker, NEOS supporter Hans Peter Haselsteiner also owns a 15 percent stake in the Signa Group. He accused the ÖVP of exploiting taxpayers. In turn, he proposed to the SPÖ to set up a joint commission of inquiry into the matter.
Benko come, clean up, move on and leave a mess, said Nina Tomaselli (Greens). He was “not in the mood” to pay taxes and received support from Turkey’s finance ministry. Karin Doppelbauer (NEOS) criticized the fact that Kika/Leiner had received support from COFAG because of the “lean economic policy of former Chancellor Kurz”. There are still many unanswered questions here.
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.
