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Austria’s 2023 budget: Where is the money going and how will it affect you?

Austria's Finance Ministry presented on Wednesday the government's budget for 2023. Here's what you need to know about the measures that could impact you.

Austria's 2023 budget: Where is the money going and how will it affect you?
A woman walks past a closed boutique store on the Graben, a shopping street in the city centre of Vienna. (Photo by JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

Austrian finance minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) on Wednesday presented his first annual budget to the country’s parliament, as he tried to get the message across that the finance measures weren’t all crisis-related.

It wasn’t an easy sell, given billions of euros have been earmarked and are still being spent on corona aid packages and anti-inflation measures.

Still, Brunner said the country would be “using the current challenges to set priorities” as he laid out plans involving increasing the military budget and investing in “social and economic security”.

READ ALSO: Milk, cheese and eggs by 19.5 percent: How food prices in Austria are rising

Overall, Austria will see its debt growing to € 367bn, but the government debt share of the country’s gross domestic product will fall slightly from 78.3 to 76.7 percent.

The country will also have to deal with interest payments doubling in 2023 as rates soar. However, the federal government’s net administrative finance balance amounts to a deficit of € 17bn in 2023 – an improvement of € 6.1bn compared to 2022.

The procurement of the strategic gas reserve, short-term inflation relief measures and measures to deal with the Covid-19 crisis have weighed heavily on the 2022 budget, the document presented by the Ministry of Finance said.

But what does this mean to the population and Austria’s expenditure in the coming years?

Priority points

The finance minister said several times that the budget wouldn’t be “purely a crisis budget”. Instead, he presented three priorities: the first was crisis management, but also investments in security and “ecological transformation of the economy”, with efforts to reduce (energy) dependency.

READ ALSO: ‘Mission 11’: Austrian government reveals tips on how to save energy and fuel

“The government is spending a lot of money to support industry in its ecological transformation and is investing in security, both military and economic, as well as in the security of supply”, Brunner said.

The “economic transformation” will be supported with €863 million in the coming year and a total of €5 billion by 2026.

Austrian finance minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) presents the country’s 2023 budget on October 12th 2022(Fotocredit: BKA/Dunker)

Further inflation-relief measures

From January to September, inflation in Austria more than doubled from 5 percent to 10.5 percent, the minister said.

Brunner stated this was a threat to the prosperity and growth of the past few years. Therefore, in 2022, measures against inflation amounting to €6.3 billion were implemented, explained the finance minister.

According to him, further relief measures totalling €30 billion are planned for the next few years – up to 2026. “It is important that citizens and companies can rely on the state”, he said.

Social Affairs and Health

The Social Affairs and Health Ministry will receive an extra €1 billion to its budget in the coming year, with minister Johannes Rauch setting the fight against poverty, care and health promotion as priorities, according to a press statement.

“In the coming year, we will implement measures that other social affairs ministers have been fighting for decades: Social benefits will increase yearly in the future. For the first time, the compensatory allowance and social assistance are increasing faster than pensions”, he said.

READ ALSO: More pay and longer holidays: How Austria hopes to attract 75,000 new nurses

Rauch also specified that the money would be used “where it is currently most urgent”. He mentioned the combat of poverty, cushioning the consequences of the pandemic and counteracting the shortage of nursing staff.

The minimum pension in Austria will be increased by a fixed amount of € 20 per month, according to the Social Affairs Ministry.

The 2023 budget also sets an important focus for people with disabilities: an additional €80 million are earmarked for improving social and professional participation, it added.

READ ALSO: What the Austrian government’s new pension package means for you

The minister also said health promotion and preventive care would receive €27 million next year, with most of it going towards vaccination programs. Still, some are going towards digitisation projects in the healthcare sector. For example, there is a plan for digitising the Mutter-Kind-Pass, the “mother child passport”, an essential document for those having babies in Austria.

The budget for art and culture is also increasing by 11.3 percent compared to last year.

READ ALSO: How could Austria’s new electricity price brake benefit you?

“Art and culture are the cornerstones of our society and must be preserved in all their diversity with strong public funding, even in difficult times,” said State Secretary Andrea Mayer in a press statement.

The most significant part of the budget increase, € 37.5 million, is dedicated to fighting the wave of inflation, the State Secretary for Art and Culture said. Of this, €22 million will flow into a renewed increase in the basic payments to the federal theatres and federal museums.

The remaining €15.5 million are available for funding adjustments in the area of ​​art funding.

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MONEY

EXPLAINED: How to get a refund for your Amazon subscription in Austria

If you are an Amazon Prime subscriber - or were before autumn 2022 - you are entitled to compensation due to what Austria's Chamber of Labour calls 'illegal price increase'. Here are the steps you need to take before September.

EXPLAINED: How to get a refund for your Amazon subscription in Austria

Austria’s Chamber of Labour, called the Arbeiterkammer (AK) has announced a settlement with Amazon that will entitle certain subscribers of the online retailing giant to a partial refund on their subscription.

What happened?

In September 2022, Amazon increased the prices for its Prime subscription. The AK found that the price increase clause, among other provisions it did not specify, was unlawful and filed a lawsuit.

Similarly to a previous case with Netflix price increases, the AK and Amazon agreed on compensation to consumers after “lengthy settlement negotiations”, the chamber said.

Anyone who took out a Prime subscription before fall 2022 and was affected by the price increase will get their money back or a voucher from Amazon.

READ ALSO: 8 things you should know before starting an office job in Austria

How much will I get? 

The claim amount depends on the membership’s type and duration. You will receive the entire price increase back without any deductions in the form of a credit note (Amazon voucher) or a refund to your bank account.

The highest amount will be for anyone who had an annual membership in July 2022 and is still a subscriber now. In this case, the person would be entitled to around € 36.50 for 21 months of the contract. 

How do I get it?

You must request a refund from Amazon Customer Service by September 11th at the latest. To do so, log in to your Amazon customer account and fill out the refund form “Prime Austria: Request for Refund.” 

Customers can then choose between a refund or an Amazon voucher for the same amount. According to the AK, the voucher is valid for ten years and can be redeemed for almost all Amazon services. 

You will receive confirmation of your registration from Amazon within three weeks of registering on the Amazon homepage; once your claim has been approved, the money will be credited to your bank account within another three weeks.

If you have opted for a refund in the form of a credit note (Amazon voucher), you will receive it within a few days of registering in your customer account.

READ ALSO: Can you pay your Austrian taxes using a foreign bank account?

Who is entitled to it?

As mentioned, you are entitled to repayment if you were affected by the September 15th, 2022 price increase. You must have been a client before that date and continued paying the higher amount. 

You also need to register by the deadline of September 11th. The settlement is only valid for clients in Austria. Even if you have already terminated your Prime membership, you will be refunded the price increase paid for the relevant period. 

Will I pay a lower membership fee from now on? 

No. When you fill out the refund form, you will be asked whether you wish to continue your Prime membership. If you want to remain a Prime customer, you agree to pay the higher price from now on. Alternatively, you can withdraw from the contract at the same time as claiming the refund.

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