The Budget Committee of the National Council gave the green light to the 2024 budget on Friday evening. After a total of six days of deliberation, the coalition majority of parliamentarians approved the draft budget and the new federal financial framework presented by the government. Only the budgets of the Court of Auditors, the Office of the Ombudsman, the Constitutional Court and the Administrative Court received unanimous support, according to parliamentary correspondence.
In addition to the ÖVP and the Greens, the SPÖ and NEOS also voted in favor of the budget for the presidential office. No changes have been made to the government draft; it went to the plenary meeting with the original core data. Three days of plenary deliberation are now planned before the final votes. They start next Tuesday and last until Thursday, November 23.
A deficit of 4.13 percent
In concrete terms, the draft budget for 2024 presented by the government provides for income of 102.63 billion euros and expenditure of 123.49 billion euros. In total, this results in an administrative deficit of approximately 20.9 billion euros or 4.13 percent of GDP. Calculated according to the Maastricht criteria, a loss of 3 percent is expected or – if we include states, municipalities and social security systems – 2.7 percent. The condition for this is that the economy grows by 1.2 percent, as predicted. The government debt-to-GDP ratio is expected to remain stable at 76.4 percent of GDP in 2024, despite rising interest payments, and is expected to decline to 76.1 percent in 2027 under the federal financial framework.
The parliamentary budget service attributes the fact that the budget deficit – contrary to last year’s plan – does not fall more sharply to, among other things, the expansive new financial equalization, in which the extra money for the states must flow to healthcare, including care, housing and childcare. The government has also budgeted more money for other budget items, such as national defense, climate protection, science and research and homeland security. In addition, the less favorable economic conditions and rising pension costs are making themselves felt.
Out for cold progression
According to the cabinet, the abolition of cold progression, which was decided in 2022, will burden the national budget with 2.8 billion euros next year – for the benefit of taxpayers. Energy support for companies and non-profit organizations and other measures to make the location more attractive are expected to cost 2.3 billion euros. The number of permanent jobs is also expected to increase – by 1,159 to 145,149 – with the largest increases taking place in the areas of education, justice, home affairs and finance.
Source: Krone
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