Rent reduction for gas heating and price brake for gas. Can Kogler’s catalog work?
Nearly 700,000 spectators were stunned by the anti-inflation bundle presented by Greens boss Werner Kogler during the ORF “summer talk”. The vice-chancellor cannot only imagine too high a profit tax for energy companies, which is still taboo for the ÖVP. As the “Krone” discovered, Kogler wants to have a model developed that will skim off excess profits retroactively from 2022.
As is known, a brake on the electricity price will be worked out towards the end of the month. Kogler can also imagine a similar model for gas.
Lower rents when gas heating is available
But that’s not all: he also indirectly wants to lower rents. The benchmark rents should be discounted – where gas heating is installed. “People who live in rental apartments don’t have a choice about which energy source they use to heat their apartment. And for many, that is unfortunately still gas. These tenants get a big bill but don’t have any leeway to change their heating system themselves, Kogler told the “Krone”. The Vice Chancellor wants to motivate apartment complex owners to invest more in environmentally friendly heating systems.
Is this all pure populism or can it be carried out? Christoph Badelt, chairman of the Fiscal Council, can imagine a gas price brake in addition to electricity. However, it must be assessed socially. “The government must ensure that only the most deprived sections of the population receive this support.” If not, the cost to the state will explode.
Badelt sees the indirect rent reduction as a “populist detour by the vice-chancellor”. As an apartment owner in the big city, you don’t have a free choice of how the apartments are heated, says Badelt.
State must pre-finance
The head of the Fiscal Council is surprisingly positive about an excessively high profit tax. He sees no threat to the location. “I think those experts assessing the sites recognize the backgrounds to this tax.” It is also a fact that the balance sheets for 2022 will not be ready until the second half of 2023. Until then, the state has to pre-finance everything anyway.
Source: Krone
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