The governor of Carinthia, Peter Kaiser (SPÖ), took over the chairmanship of the conference of the state governors at the beginning of this month. The official handover of the baton will take place on Monday morning by his counterpart in Burgenland, Hans Peter Doskozil (SPÖ) at Schlaining Castle in southern Burgenland. Also at Kaiser, the thematic focus for the next six months will be on tax clearing.
Kaiser has already made it clear that the federal states are strongly opposed to an extension or continuation of the current tax equalization. He also warned of a funding shortfall in the core tasks of the federal states.
distribution key
In ORF’s “ZiB 2” he confirmed this on Sunday evening: The vertical distribution key (68 to 20 to 12 between the federal government, the Länder and the municipalities) should be changed in parallel with the areas of responsibility of the Länder where there are special burdens, especially health – and social issues, nursing and basic education. In the future, the federal states want 25 percent of the cake, and the municipalities no less than 15 percent.
Kaiser found it problematic that federal measures, such as tax cuts, had reduced the amount to be distributed. Kaiser rejected the 10 billion euros offered by the federal government over five years, because the calculations showed that only 473 million euros per year remained for the states and municipalities.
reform potential
When asked about the reform potential, Kaiser argued completely in line with the interests of the federal states. This is how he can imagine the transfer of tasks: for example in primary education, where, according to the ideas of the Carinthian governor, basic funding could become a federal matter. He rejected the idea that states should be able to raise taxes themselves. Such competition leads to dumping practices, he argued.
Since the presidency of the state chamber also moved to Carinthia in July, the new president of the Federal Council Claudia Arpa and her predecessor in this position, Günter Kovacs (both SPÖ), as well as other members of the Federal Council and the state government, will also take over on Monday participate in the media event.
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.
