19. 07. 10. - 12:00

BA boss says new taxes would endanger thousands of jobs

Politicians would put thousands of jobs at risk by issuing taxes and regulations, a top banker has warned.

Bank Austria (BA) chief Willibald Cernko said today (Mon) stricter rules and taxes planned on financial transactions and bank institutes’ assets posed a threat to positions in the sector.

He stressed: "A study of ours has shown that the possible billions of extra spending would leave banks with no margin."

Cernko added that a "significant" number of jobs would be at risk if Austrian and European political leaders press on with their plans to put extra pressure on banks.

"Between 5,000 and 10,000 jobs in the Austrian banking sector would be under threat," the BA CEO said.

Almost 70,000 people have full time jobs in the financial branch in the country at the moment.

The Austrian coalition of Social Democrats (SPÖ) and People’s Party (ÖVP) hopes to rake in an extra 500 million Euros with its new bank tax coming into force next year, while the European Union (EU) may introduce a tax on financial transactions.

A majority of 73 per cent of Austrians are in support of a tax on financial transactions, according to a recent poll.

Cernko appealed to the Austrian government to liaise with other EU member states over setting up a tax on banks’ annual net assets, adding that he was in favour of postponing the introduction of the levy.

Some Austrian banks still receive state aid. The SPÖ-ÖVP coalition decided to support the institutes last year to ensure they do not collapse in the crisis. An overall 7.5 billion Euros have so far been transferred to the banks.

SPÖ Chancellor Werner Faymann claimed the bank tax was a "reasonable decision" and an attempt to involve the banks in the coalition’s attempts to restore the state budget.