Fee explosion! Austria struggles with a rush to pass offices

Fee explosion! Austria struggles with a rush to pass offices

From July 2023, significant increases in the federal fees were announced in Austria. This adaptation particularly affects the fees for passports and driver's licenses that have not been adhered to inflation since 2011. According to this, a new passport will cost 112 euros from July 1st, while the driver's license will cost 90 euros. These are drastic increases compared to the previous fees of 75.90 euros for the passport and 60.50 euros for the driver's license, such as Kosmo reported.

The measure aims to generate additional income of 65 million euros from 2025 and to rinse 150 million euros annually from 2026. In view of the upcoming price increases, an increase in applications to passports and driver's licenses can be observed. In Salzburg, additional employees were deployed in the magistrates to meet the high demand, but passport heads report from high operations and the lack of free appointments.

decisions of the government

Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) has also announced that the increase in fees for passport, registration certificate, ID card and driver's license will be suspended for the time being. This happens against the background of a persistently high inflation of three percent and the pressure on the budget. The Standard reports about the "fee brake", which has an immediately noticeable relief for the citizens.

The current fiscally tense Situation is considered critical by economic experts. A possible adjustment of the federal fees that have not taken the price increase since 2011 could serve to consolidate the budget. The FPÖ-ÖVP coalition negotiators plan to increase the fees in order to stop the budget-lift that has existed since 2011. orf reports of the possible increases that could be up to 44 percent.

Details for increasing fees

An overview of the planned fee adjustments shows that the costs for passport and driver's license will increase considerably:

Citizens must adapt to sensitive increases and the associated challenges for authorities. It remains to be seen how the government will react to the financial situation in the coming weeks and months to consider the needs of the population.