Some €500 million in taxes energy companies have to pay on excess profits will be used to help citizens struggling to pay their heating bills and housing costs, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner announced in Vienna on Wednesday.
Of the €500 million, €450 million will be distributed to Austria’s nine states so they assist citizens with their heating bills, though states can modify the scheme largely at will.
“Maintaining purchasing power in Austria is our highest priority,” explained Brunner, adding that every person is to receive about €200-400, saying it is “a matter of fairness”.
It will certainly benefit people with low incomes, stressed Health Minister Johannes Rauch.
At the same time, the so-called “housing shield” adopted during the pandemic to avoid home victims will receive a €50 million top-up to help the 1.2 million Austrians currently struggling to pay their rent and bills, Rauch added.
The scheme was welcomed by the worker’s association Arbeiterkammer Wien (AK), and the trade union ÖGB. AK stressed the need for longer-term measures with long-lasting impact, similar to Germany’s heating price “brake.”
Austria’s decision to use windfall taxes comes after the government decided on Tuesday to tax more than 40% of the excess profits made by companies that earned over 20% of their average 2019-2021 profits.
(Nikolaus J. Kurmayer | EURACTIV.de)
Source: euractiv.com
