Relief for Upper Austria's municipalities: State levy 2026!

Relief for Upper Austria's municipalities: State levy 2026!

Today brings an important political initiative for the municipalities of Upper Austria. As reported [ots.at] (https://www.ots.at/presseaus-sung/ots_20250606_ots0068/gemeimer-vorstoss-im-ooe-municipalities-landscape-fuer-2026-2026 and the SPÖ in the Upper Austrian state parliament for the financial situation of the municipalities. The main objective of this application is the suspension of the state levy for 2026. This measure should help the municipalities at a time, stop and inflation and thus significantly restrict the financial scope of the municipalities.

The community budgets are strongly under pressure from the continuously increasing personnel and material costs as well as additional tasks that can be managed without corresponding financial compensation. LAbg. Joachim Aigner (MFG-OÖ) emphasized that concrete measures to relieve the municipalities are urgently needed. The proposed suspension of the state levy is considered by the initiators as a necessary and overdue step in order not to continue to burden the economic situation of the communities.

financial challenges

The current financial situation of the municipalities is influenced not only by the matters on site, but also by external factors. According to a forecast of the Austrian City Association, the municipal finances suffer from the effects of the Corona-Pandemie, the Ukraine War, the Ukraine War. These factors lead to increasing expenses in the form of additional expenditure for climate protection measures and other investments.

long -term solutions

The state government's commitment to community development is not new. There is already a story of relief steps that have been undertaken since 2019. For example, the Upper Austria included. Community package 2019 20 million euros, followed by 54.25 million euros in 2020 and the latest package of 56 million euros for 2022/2023.

These financial support measures are particularly relevant in terms of the discussion about the need to reduce or expose the state levy. A falling below the maximum framework to collect the state levy already led to annual savings of around 12 million euros for municipalities and cities. Today's application could therefore mean a course for the financial health of the Upper Austrian communities.

Today's initiative will be followed more precisely, since it not only aims at the immediate financial relief, but also has an eye on the long -term planning ability and stability of the communities in Upper Austria. The developments are observed with great interest by the citizens and the community representatives.