In the debate on the conversion of the state property “Wiener Zeitung” a suggestion from the editors is now made. With an annual budget of 12 million euros, one could ensure survival in print and online – for that one would like to tap into the new ORF household contribution; at 25 cents a month.
In a letter to the federal government, the editors of “Wiener Zeitung” complained that the scope of the future household levy would not be sufficient, as only the ORF and not other public media were covered. At the same time, more money will probably be collected for the ORF in the future than it needs to carry out its public task. After all, more than 100,000 companies will also have to pay the levy.
According to ORF boss Roland Weißmann, any surplus resulting from this would go to an escrow account – if at all. Instead of ending up there, according to the editors, there would be a chance for future funding of the “Wiener Zeitung”.
Government wants to rebuild the world’s oldest daily newspaper
The demand from the “Wiener Zeitung” is in response to the government’s planned plan to stop funding the Republic’s newspaper as a daily newspaper. Instead, the primary focus should be online. In addition, journalistic training and further education will be expanded as part of a “Media Hub Austria” and a content agency will be established.
According to the draft, a corresponding law should come into effect on July 1. The editors of the “Wiener Zeitung” assume that this will lead to “disastrous personnel measures” which de facto “entail the destruction of the editorial office and the media products”.
WKÖ against additional costs for companies
According to Media Minister Susanne Raab (ÖVP), the planned ORF contribution of around EUR 15.20 (excluding state taxes) will also affect “business premises”. “From our point of view, it is important that there is no additional burden on companies, fair compensation is needed,” Karlheinz Kopf, secretary general of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber (WKÖ), told the “Standaard”.
According to the “Wiener Zeitung”, about 200,000 companies currently pay the GIS fee. However, it is highly unlikely that all approximately 700,000 operational sites in the country will have to pay the ORF contribution in the future. Sole proprietorships will be exempted, which will remove several hundred thousand business premises from the IB, but it should still be more than is currently the case.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
