Treasury Secretary Brunner – “Must have the courage to turn big screws”

„krone“: Treasury Secretary Brunner, let’s get straight to the heart of the issue that may have put concerns about the pandemic aside for a short time — but that affects almost everyone: inflation. Hundreds of thousands of Austrians have financial concerns and fear that it will no longer work. What do you say to these people except comforting words they can’t bite?
Magnus Brunner: The rising costs are worrying many people. Concerns that we take very seriously and that we want to take away from people as best we can. As a state, we have opportunities to alleviate and mitigate the effects. So far, we’ve done that with two packages worth four billion euros: we’ve already paid an inflation adjustment to those most affected and sent an energy cost adjustment to households. We supported commuters by increasing the commuter allowance and quadrupling the commuter euro. But yes, further and structural measures are needed – these are currently being negotiated.

The so-called middle class are those people who earn well because they turn less to the comfortable social hammock of the state than to hard work. At home in Vorarlberg one would say “work, build, build a house”. For many, not to say for the vast majority of young people, especially in Tyrol, this is no longer possible. Is something completely wrong?
That is precisely why I am in favor of structural measures. One would be the abolition of cold progression. Then people will no longer automatically fall into higher tax brackets. We face big challenges, so we have to turn the really big screws.

Back to inflation. During my longer existence, I can’t remember that you can refuel cheaper in Italy than in Austria. Now when I drive to the Adriatic, I no longer think about a full tank of my car, but about cheaper refueling – even on the highway – in Italy, where fuel costs have always been a nightmare. But that’s no less of a concern. What is wrong here, what can be done here, Minister?
The example of Germany shows – just like the examples in Hungary and Slovenia – that a price cap for fuel is pointless. Intervening in the market didn’t even work in the 1970s. We have therefore relieved commuters and will curb inflation with further relief.

We were talking about medium-sized companies. It is always said that this clientele represents the classic ÖVP voter. More and more medium-sized companies are now sliding into the relegation zone, to put it sportively. Isn’t the ÖVP afraid of losing these voters to the SPÖ and FPÖ?
The effects of inflation affect everyone, including entrepreneurs. I can only repeat myself here: we have to take structural measures to help people. I don’t look at groups of voters. It is about unburdening broad sections of the population. My goal is to have a solution before the summer.

Talk about losing voters. Barely a week without a scandal popping up mentioning the ÖVP. Sure, some are well staged. But the advertising scandal in Vorarlberg, the Corona payments for the seniors’ association in Tyrol, etc. How does the Minister of Finance feel when he hears that?
Where mistakes have been made, they should also be pointed out and lessons should be learned from them. In my area of ​​responsibility, at the Ministry of Finance, I will therefore be carrying out a reorganization in the coming months. For example, a department with the core competences of law and procurement will be established and the departments currently bundled in the General Secretariat will be integrated into a new presidential section. As a result, the position of Secretary General in the BMF will no longer be necessary in the future, which is also a clear signal that we are ready for change.

If we look into the crystal ball: where do you think Austria will be in two years? Is there an SPÖ government without a debt brake? Or is it black and blue again? Will we Austrians be carefree again?
The turquoise-green coalition works well together on the major issues. Our job now is to regain the trust of the people through de facto politics. For this I make my contribution.

Minister, the core task of the Federal Ministry of Finance is to ensure the financial capacity of the federal government in the long term. Always keep this goal in mind as some countries and many communities are in debt and some are already financially unable to act.
The consequences of the coronavirus were felt by all municipalities. It is true: without the support of the federal government, our communities and especially the states would have suffered enormous financial losses. So the federal government has helped on a large scale. In total, we have made more than 3.3 billion euros available for federal states and municipalities. The federal states are currently still receiving an investment subsidy of 500 million euros – the federal government is really fulfilling its obligation.

Final question: I assume you don’t want to be a politician for the rest of your life, especially not because you have a top education. You studied and completed law at the University of Innsbruck and at King’s College London, one of the world’s most renowned universities. Can you earn much more in business than you do now?
I love being in politics and I have a few projects ahead of me. We are currently in the final stages of negotiations to absorb the impact of inflation. And in the government program we have set ourselves many tasks: For example, I am re-introducing the tax retention period for shares. Because we are all aware that the savings account is no longer attractive in the current low interest rate situation. It is therefore my goal to make private retirement provision and wealth accumulation more attractive in the long term.