Viennese study shows Brit bosses earned the most in 2009

Austrian business chiefs earned almost 500,000 Euros in so-called crisis year 2009, research shows.The research by Viennese consulting firm Kienbaum presented today (Thurs) shows that heads of Austrian firms cashed in an average 468,000 Euros before tax last year.Kienbaum experts said Austria lies above the European average, adding that comparable figures for the previous year would not exist.British company bosses top the chart with 2009 earnings of 733,000 Euros, followed by the chiefs of German-based companies with an average 570,000 Euros.Firm chiefs in financially struggling Spain came last with 251,000 Euros, according to the Kienbaum study.IMAS research presented yesterday showed that 70 per cent of Austrians wants the government to increase taxes on managersÂ’ wages.Sixty-seven per cent said they saw no other option to reduce the soaring state debt and budget deficit than the coalition making various cuts over the next few years.