Viennese companies could face additional costs. The city of Vienna plans to extend the so-called subway tax to employees over 55 years old as well as freelance workers. Previously, these groups were exempt from the levy. Through this change, the city hopes to generate additional revenue of around 17.9 million euros.

The Vienna Chamber of Commerce (WKW) responds with clear criticism. President Margarete Kriz-Zwittkovits sees this as an additional burden for businesses and fears negative impacts on the employment of older workers.

The subway tax is an employer levy that Viennese companies must pay for their employees. Currently, it amounts to two euros per employee per week.

With a year-round obligation to pay, this equates to 104 euros per employee per year.

Until now, employees over 55 years old were exempt from this levy. According to the current draft law, this exemption is to be removed. Freelance workers are also to be included in the future.

The corresponding amendment to the law on the collection of an employer levy has already been submitted for review. The expansion has not yet been decided.

The planned change affects a large group in the Viennese labor market.

According to the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, there are currently more than 168,000 employees aged at least 55 years. In addition, there are around 7,000 freelance contracts.

At the same time, more than 23,000 people over 55 years old are unemployed in Vienna.

The Chamber of Commerce therefore views the additional levy critically. In their opinion, older workers should become more attractive to businesses to enable longer employment.

„This plan is counterproductive in multiple ways,“ explains WKW President Margarete Kriz-Zwittkovits.

The expansion increases the cost of employing older workers, even though the political goal is to bring the actual retirement age closer to the statutory one.

Additionally, payroll taxes would rise during an economically challenging phase. The Chamber of Commerce points to the ongoing inflation and a recent inflation rate of more than three percent.

According to WKW, labor-intensive, smaller businesses with a high proportion of older employees could be particularly affected.

For companies, the additional burden depends on how many employees, previously exempt, will now be subject to the levy.

With continuous employment over 52 weeks, the following calculated burden arises:

Newly liable employees

Additional costs per year

The calculation is based on two euros per person per week. Actual costs may vary depending on the duration of employment and legal exemptions.

With the planned expansion, the city of Vienna aims to generate approximately 17.9 million euros more annually.

The subway tax is used to finance the Vienna subway network. The expansion of the tax obligation would increase the number of employment relationships for which companies must pay.

The Chamber of Commerce criticizes not only the additional burden but also the pace of the subway expansion. Kriz-Zwittkovits sees this as another reason to reject the planned change.

A detailed statement from the city of Vienna regarding the economic objections is not included in the current release.

The legislative amendment is currently in the review process. During this phase, comments on the draft can be submitted.

The Vienna Chamber of Commerce has announced that it will present its objections during the process.

Whether the expansion will be adopted in its currently planned form and from when it could apply is not yet clear from the available information.

For Viennese businesses, it remains uncertain when and to what extent the additional costs will actually arise.

(Ed.)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article .