Time and again, bizarrely cheap real estate deals that are sold for a lot of money after repurposing cause a stir. SPÖ leader Andreas Babler is now making people sit up with a suggestion on how this can be stopped. He wants to collect the extra profit – with a new tax.
This should amount to 90 percent of additional profits from the sale of converted properties, according to a document prepared for the party. “It cannot be the case that a few people enrich themselves through repurposing, while affordable housing is becoming increasingly scarce for the majority of the population,” says Babler.
Almost all winnings would have to be given away
In the case of profits from redistribution, the increase in the value of the property in the future must be registered for tax purposes and registered in the land registry at the time of redistribution. A flat tax rate of 90 percent would then be payable on the increase in the value of the property due to the repurposing.
According to the SPÖ plans, this tax would not have to be paid during the redistribution. It would be registered in the land registry as a repurposing levy in the form of a mortgage for the benefit of the public sector. The tax would not actually be due until the property is sold.
Added value for the general public
In concrete terms, the new tax should replace the property tax, which currently has a flat rate of 30 percent. Since this can only be levied for the future, the fixed rate of property tax for old cases should be doubled to 60 percent.
The increases in value are entirely non-performance income, which is only made possible by the public law redistribution law. Therefore, in such a case, the increase in value should not remain in private hands, but flow back to the general public, the SPÖ chairman believes.
Injustice ‘that some can solve it’
When converting grassland to arable land, a minimum quota of 50 percent should also be reserved for non-profit housing in metropolitan areas. It is a blatant injustice “that some who can manage this become millionaires overnight through repurposing, while the vast majority of the population suffers from rising rental costs.”
FPÖ on the barricades
The FPÖ was not particularly impressed by Babler’s initiative. According to construction spokesman Philipp Schrangl, the SPÖ boss is “again a wrong-way driver in housing policy”. A repurposing levy would lead to less new living space due to higher real estate prices and therefore make housing even more expensive. He also questioned Babler’s credibility on the matter after the allotment affair involving Viennese SPÖ politicians a few months ago remained without consequences.
The FPÖ instead advocates increasing housing subsidies to one percent of GDP through federal subsidies, cheap financing options through the restoration of the housing investment bank (dissolved under Turquoise-Blue in 2018, note) and easier housing loans through a repeal of the introduced KIM regulation. in 2022.
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.
