There must be a balanced budget as early as 2021. But the financial plans are no longer valid and the state of Lower Austria will have to take on new debts in the coming years. “Of course it hurts. But there is no other way,” explains State Councilor for Finance Ludwig Schleritzko (ÖVP). A balance.
The net financing balance – the amount needed to balance a budget – amounted to just under 200 million euros in 2015. In 2019, income and savings drove things towards zero – then the time of crises began. A year later the balance sheet was almost minus 800 million euros. After a short recovery phase, the figure became positive in 2022 – now the debt level is rising again…
This year the state parliament will have to decide on a supplementary budget – where minus 479.8 million euros was planned for 2024, there will probably still be a minus 647.3 million euros in the books at the end of this year – the deficit will therefore increase with 167.5 million euros.
“Of course it’s unpleasant”
State Councilor for Finance Ludwig Schleritzko: “Of course it is unpleasant. But a lack of income shares, declining revenues, rising costs and the general economic situation mean that we should also expect a deficit for the double budget for 2025/26.” Namely with 350 million and then 256 million euros. The public sector is also affected by inflation. “We had to respond to this in our budget. For example, we have booked a total of 90 million euros in additional expenses for higher personnel and energy costs,” Schleritzko explains.
The loss has to be absorbed by selling home loans. At the same time, the state government will also take a closer look at the finances. “We have to define what we want to be financially responsible for and what we don’t want to be responsible for,” Schleritzko says.
‘Big chunks’: healthcare, social affairs, construction
Of course, the largest parts in the future will remain the state clinics, including care centers, health and social affairs – which together make up almost 51 percent of the state budget. But a lot of money must also flow into the areas of childcare, housing, roads and public transport, culture, education and science. The State Finance Council said: “We will not prepare an austerity budget for 2025/2026, but a budget based on needs.” The figures will then be determined by the state parliament in the St. Pölten government district on July 3 and 4.
Until then, there will certainly continue to be political discussions about the financial budget.
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.
