Shortly before Labor Day (1 May), Vice Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) is again calling for an inheritance tax. With fewer and fewer people comes an ever greater fortune. That was “neither Christian nor social,” Kogler told his coalition partner ÖVP, which opposes such a tax.
On the contrary, it is a “blatant injustice”. “Whoever chops all his life pays hundreds of thousands of euros in taxes and duties for this working life,” says Kogler in a video published on Facebook on Saturday. This is used to finance educational institutions and hospitals, for example. “If someone inherits many millions, a big mansion, astronomical blocks of shares or huge assets of any kind, they pay exactly nothing – zero, niente, nada for the community,” criticizes the Greens leader.
Goes against the performance principle
That is neither fair nor just. The legacy is a “non-performance” income that “contradicts any principle of performance”. That is why he is in favor of a millionaire tax, says Kogler. The extra income should benefit those “who do a lot but earn little”, for example nursing staff and kindergarten teachers.
The Vice-Chancellor recalled the increasingly tense staff situation in many areas where much is being done to promote social cohesion. Kogler announced that he would like to discuss the most sensible way to design such a tax with those involved and people from science and politics.
union approval
The politician received encouragement from the GPA trade union and the Austrian trade union federation (ÖGB) on Saturday. Many would contribute nothing or almost nothing, said ÖGB president Wolfgang Katzian. The great fortunes should contribute.
The GPA spoke of an “imbalance in the tax system” in a broadcast. Workers and consumers currently pay 80 percent of taxes. “Bad statements, as we have often heard from the green half of government, are not enough. The subject is too important for partisan political hiccups,” said chair Barbara Teiber.
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.
