ORF fee fight: Entrepreneur threatens to close the company!

Excitement in the Mostviertel! Markus Abel, head of a locksmith's shop in St. Valentin, is confronted with a draconian demand for payment from ORF-Beitrags Service GmbH. The entrepreneur refuses to pay the ORF fees for his company because he is already being asked to pay privately. He fears that this double burden is not only unfair, but also threatens the future of his company. "I will challenge this claim in court. If the court decides against me, my company will be closed and even more unemployed people will be the result," says Abel, expressing his desperation. This conflict is being greatly fueled by the new ORF contribution law, which obliges permanent establishments to pay if local tax was paid in the previous year, reports exxpress.at.

The current ORF contribution law 2024 is not only causing displeasure for Abel, but is also associated with enormous uncertainty for many other entrepreneurs. It obliges all companies that paid local tax last year to pay an ORF contribution. This happens regardless of the number of business establishments - a maximum of 100 contributions per year per municipality have to be paid, so that orf.teil.at. The situation is particularly precarious because in some cases double or multiple burdens can occur, for example in construction companies or cleaning service providers. In order to meet these challenges, discussions are currently taking place between those responsible at ORF-Beitrags Service GmbH and the Federal Ministry of Finance in order to develop a solution and offer relief to affected companies.

Drastic measures announced

Frustration is growing among entrepreneurs like Abel as they not only have to deal with the financial burden, but also comply with safety regulations that prohibit the operation of media devices. This discrepancy makes the demand to pay additional fees all the more absurd. Abel plans to raise his voice to take action against the regulation, which is perceived as unfair, and is thus calling for a broader protest that could potentially have far-reaching consequences for the implementation of the ORF contribution law.