Retiree surprised – tourist tax and World Cup contribution even upon retirement

Mr. D. (full name known to the editors) retired on October 1, 2022. The Tyrolean previously worked as his own boss in the insurance industry – and of course also paid all possible taxes to the country, the state and the social partners.

This also includes the tourist tax collected by the state, as well as the membership fee for the Chamber of Commerce (WK).

Contributions have been reduced
What the pensioner is very surprised about: “Even though I no longer have a business license or office, I still have to pay the two premiums.” The mandatory premiums have been reduced – the state collects 41 euros annually for the tourist tax. The Chamber of Commerce pays 65 euros annually – but Mr. D. is still very surprised about it.

According to his own statements, both the state and the WK justify the levy on the pensioner by saying that he could still collect subsequent commissions and is therefore obliged to pay them. For the former entrepreneur, this reasoning is still more than incomprehensible. He therefore also turned to the Fritz list, which is represented in the state parliament.

“I couldn’t believe it at first”
“When Mr. D. described this to me, I couldn’t believe it at first,” says club chairman Markus Sint, shaking his head. It is “a powerful piece of how a pensioner is being ripped off here. The respective amounts may not be high, but the fact alone that Mr. D. has to pay is a disgrace.” The reason given to the pensioner “is the bottom of the barrel,” says Sint. “We as Liste Fritz and many companies in the country are annoyed that almost everyone who does not fall under one, two, three has to pay. tourist tax”.

List Fritz calls for reforms with two core points
Sint warns that the tourist tax will become a tourist tax. They therefore call for a reform with two core points: “Firstly, only those who really profit from tourism should pay, but not the undertaker, driving instructor or pensioner of an insurance broker. Secondly, the tourist tax should be collected from the profit and not from the turnover. The black-red state government is currently missing the opportunity for this sensible reform.” Finally, Markus Sint “of course also demands that when you retire you no longer have to pay membership fees to the World Cup.”

Reported inactive at WK, active at Land
The WK states that “in this case, the company was reported inactive as of September 30, 2022, but was not removed. Therefore, half of the established basic levy is prescribed as planned. The obligation to pay contributions only ends when the trade license is cancelled.”

However, the state says: “If there is no more turnover from the activity, there is of course no obligation to pay contributions. However, the country currently has no plans for Mr D. to give up his company. For this reason, Mr D. is still listed as active.”

The amendment brings about some changes
Only a few weeks ago, the state of Tyrol announced a change to the tourist tax. However, the two points demanded by club chairman Markus Sint were not included. Here is a brief overview of what is planned from 1 January 2025:

• Companies whose direct profit from tourism is lower will have to pay an average of 24 percent less. In addition, a tax deduction of 2,500 euros will be introduced. Sales below this amount will be exempt from tax.
• The professional groups, currently 616, are being revised. Probably about 60 obsolete documents will be deleted and 50 new ones will be defined. This means that there should be about 600 professional groups.
• Tourists will have to dig deeper into their pockets. The minimum tourist tax per day will increase from one to 2.60 euros. The maximum amount will be five euros. The tourist associations will continue to determine the amount themselves.

“The financial basis must be further developed”

• The Tourism and Contribution Service is being expanded to a service point. Including two service hotlines for tax advisors, accountants and stakeholders, as well as premium-liable companies. The regulations must become more transparent.

Presenting the amendment, LH Anton Mattle (ÖVP) said that “tourism brings prosperity, jobs and development opportunities. In order to remain successful, the financial basis must be further developed.”

Working as a journalist means that you have to ‘chew through’ certain subjects over and over again. Often this simply has to do with the annual cycle. In the economics department, for example, there are balance sheets at the end of the year in which only the figures change. As a friend of statistics, I always find this exciting.

And then there are topics that come from the valued readership. There are also some that are ‘chewed’ over and over again. One of these topics that has occupied me for several years is the tourist tax. Where there have previously been cases in which entrepreneurs were confronted with reminder letters, this time it concerns a pensioner who still has to pay premiums after retirement.

If you believe Mr. D., he no longer has a business license. If you believe the Chamber of Commerce and the state, something probably went wrong when the company was declared. The WK at least admits that the company has been declared inactive for some time.

Whatever went wrong here and by whom, one thing is certain: we journalists will always ‘chew’ through the subject of tourist tax. But in any case only until his retirement.