01. 09. 10. - 15:00

Faymann adamant about financial transactions levy

Social Democratic (SPÖ) Chancellor Werner Faymann has pledged to press on with attempts to introduce a Europe-wide tax on financial transactions.

Faymann said today (Weds) he has agreed with other leading European Social Democrats to launch an internet platform where supporters of the idea could sign up. The SPÖ boss told Die Presse newspaper the currently developed website will be presented in autumn.

People’s Party (ÖVP) Finance Minister Josef Pröll said recently he still enjoyed being a politician despite the stress, the fragile state of the economy and negotiations about upcoming austerity measures.

But Faymann stressed today: "I don’t enjoy informing people about cuts – pensioners living on 700 Euros (a month), for example."

Pröll has remained silent about what the 2011 budget will hold, while some SPÖ officials have shown a gloves-off attitude in the debate, trying to force Faymann to convince coalition partner ÖVP that Austria must reintroduce a levy on assets.

The finance minister explained the government will continue to discuss measures to react to economic outlooks and think tanks’ predictions.

SPÖ and ÖVP already agreed on a bank tax set to help it get an extra 500 million Euros a year, while rumour has it the coalition will increase Austria’s comparably low car petrol taxation rate.

Speaking to Die Presse, Faymann ruled out a comeback of university study fees which were abolished two years ago. Asked whether he could rule out a stock exchange tax if his party failed to convince European Union (EU) leaders of a EU-wide levy on financial transactions, the chancellor said: "This would be the worse solution. But better than no solution at all."

Christoph Leitl, the conservative head of the Federal Economy Chamber (WKO), caused a stir recently by backing the SPÖ’s financial transaction tax. Leitl claimed this measure could tempt other EU member states to follow Austria’s example – while some economists and ÖVP MPs warned the Austrian economy would suffer.

Pröll meanwhile said Austria’s towns and communities must spend 800 million Euros less next year to support the government’s attempt to lower the budget deficit which reached a whopping 3.5 per cent in 2009 after just 0.4 per cent in the previous year.

Opposition leaders hit out at SPÖ and ÖVP for their decision to present 2011 budget details not before December despite the constitution enforcing governments to do so 10 weeks ahead of the affected year’s New Year’s Day.

Greens, the Freedom Party (FPÖ) and the Alliance for the Future of Austria (BZÖ) claimed the government feared suffering losses in the provincial elections of Styria (26 September) and Vienna (10 October) if people hear of planned cuts and higher taxes before going to the polls.