Chancellor on aid package: – “Money back that has absorbed inflation”

Crown“: Chancellor, you have just presented a comprehensive anti-inflation package. I would like to know what’s in it for you and your family?
Karl Nehammer: Well, these are all measures that…

No, sorry, I would like to know exactly from you, no general phrases. Can you tell me the exact number?
I need to do some calculations. There is the child benefit of 180 euros, two children, then there is the increase to 2000 euros per child, then there is the climate bonus in October, which is 250 euros net, followed by the anti-inflation premium, which is partly taxable.

Pretty complicated, isn’t it? We have calculated 2360 euros, do you agree?
Yes, this shows that communication is not easy, marketing it is not smart to make it so diverse, the payout is very complex. Frankly, no one expected that it would be so difficult to give people money. It’s easy when it comes to payroll tax data, but when it touches broad sections of the population, communication becomes a formidable task. We need the media to support us.

Happy with the responses to the total package?
It was mostly positive. We also worked it out thoroughly, we had the economic researchers and social partners calculate all kinds of special requests and only then went out with our program. We want to keep Austria’s location stability at a high level.

There is no price brake for energy?
That would be possible if there were standardized gas purchasing in Europe, but that is not the case. There are many different buyers on the market. And national action can be extremely expensive. As a tourist country we cannot do it like Hungary, we should compensate the corporations for the difference. It also cost a lot in Germany, but did not bring the desired success.

Many billions come to us as inflation compensation. Does it cost what it may? We already had it.
We want to give people back the money that inflation has taken from them.

Not so simple, as appears from the multitude of measures. After energy, the more expensive foods are increasingly causing problems for people.
This is a very important area that we take very, very seriously. There are no prohibitions on thinking, not even the possibility to lower the VAT on groceries.

But you must make a precise distinction, not for caviar, but for milk and bread you must also take the chain stores; how do I compensate for the consequences of any interventions there?

But so much is getting more expensive, from rent to electricity, but nothing gets cheaper
We rely on the sum of the exemption, not on individual measures.

This has led to the accusation that the government acts according to the watering can principle!
We have short-term measures not to reduce the purchasing power of the low income groups, we have support for families and especially for children and we have set the course for the long term.

Very important: for thirty years there was only talk of abolishing cold progression, I have been chancellor for six months now and we have reached this milestone. Two thirds of the consequences of inflation are automatically taken into account and for a third we can prioritize.

If the coalition sticks to this plan, after all, the CO2 tax will be postponed until October, then the Greens will benefit.
Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures, we see it. A coalition is a real compromise, the negotiation process with the Greens has been very constructive.

And the millionaire tax?
We don’t even have that in the government program. On the other hand, the Greens can be pleased with us that in the future social benefits will also be upgraded year after year.