The number of referendum has increased inflation in recent years. The reason for this is very simple: more and more private individuals are discovering a referendum as a business model. They collect a net profit of 13,686 euros for each referendum signed by 100,000 voters.
This is how it works: if you want to set up a referendum, you must first pay a cost contribution of 622 euros and then a contribution of 2800 euros for the registration of the registration. As soon as the referendum has reached the registration range of 100,000 signatures, you as an initiator will receive the cost contributions in five times! That is currently 17,100 euros, resulting in a net profit of approximately 13,700 per referendum.
Official Voche “Business Model Folk Bearing”
An official from LoWower Austria is now going on. Manuel Plöchl, responsible for referenda in the Lower Austrian municipality of St.andrä-Wördern itself, sets up a referendum against the referendum with a view to personal enrichment. This can be signed from March 31 to April 7.
Every “profit” is donated
However, because he does not want to enrich himself, he will donate a considerable part of the returned cost contribution to a children’s host in the case of success, ie when reaching 100,000 signatures, Plöchl promises. In his referendum, he demands that politicians to change the Pens -Requirements Act of 2018 in such a way that the amount to be repaid only covers the cost contributions.
The majority of the referendum reaches the 100,000 marks
In the last 61 referendums (2020 to 2024), a total of 43 reached the 100,000 characteristic ticks. For this goal, the initiators – after deduction of the cost contributions – collected a total of 588,498 euros in tax money. Only 18 referendums failed more or less briefly on the 100,000 characteristic brand. The first referendum took place in 1964. A total of 21 referendums were started in the 35 years from 1964 to 1999. From 2020 there was almost doubling, from 2022 a real explosion of the number of referendum. In 2022 it was 16, in 2023 and there were 14 referenda last year.
Reform requirement in the light of explosive increase
In addition, the municipalities will be replaced by the federal government in the costs of federal law. In this respect, the federal government must each time pay the registration period a fixed rattle of 40 cents per voter to the municipalities. This results in tax money more than 2.5 million euros each time, up to three times a year. “You can easily see the stream of registration for a new referendum that more and more private individuals are discovering this business idea themselves. There are currently 32 referenda in the support phase – these were only registered with the BMI in 2024 or 2025, “said Plöchl.
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.
