Economy under pressure: ÖGB warns of wealth taxes in Austria!

Economy under pressure: ÖGB warns of wealth taxes in Austria!

As part of the ORF press hour, ÖGB President Wolfgang Katzian commented on May 26, 2025 on the upcoming debate about the reintroduction of asset and inheritance taxes in Austria. Katzian made it clear that the discussion about these taxes had already been decided because they were not included in the government program. He emphasized that this could endanger the stability of the Austria location and put pressure on possible investments in the real estate industry. He also criticized the fact that the taxation limits were gradually reduced in previous discussions.

Support received Katzian from ÖHGB President RA Dr. Martin Prunbauer, who also warned of the negative effects of ideologically motivated stress debates. He called for a phase of stability that is necessary to combat economic uncertainties. Experts fear that ownership or increase of these taxes will also be burdened with what could harm Austria.

historical and international perspectives

The topic around the wealth tax is not new and has historical roots that go back to ancient Greece and Rome. In most European countries, the taxes raised annually has now been abolished, since effort and benefits were in an unfair relationship. Deutscheskonto.org reports that the wealth tax in Germany has been exposed to since 1997, while in Austria it has no longer been collected in Austria. Many states do not see a sustainable means of tax survey in the wealth tax, which is why it has often been abolished in the past two decades.

An overview of the property tax situation in Europe shows that some countries, such as Belgium and Ireland, have never raised a wealth tax, while others, including Denmark and France, have established different regulations. In France, for example, wealth tax only falls on natural persons and also applies to tax exposure with assets in the country. Austria has recently needed a realignment of its tax law to protect international competitiveness.

inheritance taxes in international comparison

Tax burden by inheritance taxes is particularly high in Germany in Germany, especially in the case of inheritance to spouses. A study by the ZEW on behalf of the Familiengetrieb Foundation has noticed that the Federal Republic is in third parties with regard to inheritance tax for business assets. According to Haufe collect no inheritance tax.

The German inheritance tax volume is estimated at 1.1% of total tax revenue, which is more than twice as high as the OECD average. Future forecasts indicate that inheritance tax volume in Germany could grow to up to 14.6 billion euros by 2050, which also underpins the importance of this type of tax. In view of these developments, it remains to be seen whether and how the debates about asset and inheritance taxes will develop in Austria.