Factsheet for measure
AT-2022-36/2854
–
Updated
– measures in Austria
Climate bonus and inflation bonus
Klimabonus und Teuerungsbonus
Background information
Due to the high inflation, driven by increasing energy and food prices and supply shortages, the federal government of Austria has issued three anti-inflation packages during the spring and summer 2022.
The latest package from August 2022 consists of several measures that compensate businesses, workers and citizens for the increasing prices (including
financial measures supporting families in the cost-of-living crisis
, a
tax reform abolishing the “cold progression” and adjustment of social benefits to inflation
, or the establishment of a
housing umbrella programme for securing one’s home
.
In order to compensate all Austrians for the increased costs of living, a universal measure has been established that increases the climate bonus and provides a one-off anti-inflation bonus payment.
Content of measure
In October 2022, the eco-social tax reform came into force in Austria. This regulation includes a CO2-tax (postponed from the originally planned starting date of 1 July 2022 due to the economic situation). In 2022, the price was €30 per ton of CO2; by 2025, the price will rise to €55 per ton of CO2.
The taxes collected will flow back to the Austrian population in the form of a climate bonus. The climate bonus is set to be paid annually from 2022 on to all persons having their main residence in Austria for at least six months in a year. Originally, it was intended that the bonus is staggered regionally; while in urban regions with well-developed public transport, the bonus would be lowest, it would be highest in remote rural areas. When the CO2 tax is increased, the climate bonus is automatically increased as well.
With the increasing inflation and rising prices, the federal government has decided to increase the climate bonus for all eligible persons to a flat rate of €250 for adults (instead of originally lying between €100 and €200) and €125 for children up to the age of 18 years.
Due to the high inflation in 2022, an additional anti-inflation bonus of €250 (€125 for children) is used to top-up the climate bonus, marking a flat-rate payment of €500 for adults and €250 for children, to be paid automatically starting in September 2022.
Updates
The following updates to this measure have been made after it came into effect.
|
07 June 2023
|
In June 2023, climate bonus payments for 2023 were decided in parliament: Depending on the place of residence (peripheral to urban: the better the public transport and infrastructure, the lower the payment; the municipal categories were drawn up by Statistics Austria), €110, €150, €185 or €220 are paid per adult from September onwards; children receive 50%.
Prison inmates do not receive the payment (contrary to 2022).
|
|
14 February 2023
|
From 2023 on, the climate bonus will consist of a flat-rate base amount (the amount is still to be determined) and in addition a graduated regional compensation (depending on the place of residence and the degree of urbanisation).
|
Use of measure
According to the federal government, the climate bonus is paid to around 9 million persons, with total costs ranging around €2 billion (which are partially collected via the newly implemented CO2 taxes).
Target groups
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Workers
|
Businesses
|
Citizens
|
|
Does not apply to workers
|
Does not apply to businesses
|
Applies to all citizens
|
Actors and funding
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Actors
|
Funding
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National government
|
National funds
Other
|
Social partners
Social partners' role in
designing the measure
and form of involvement:
|
Trade unions
|
Employers' organisations
|
|
Role
|
No involvement as case not in social partner domain
|
No involvement as case not in social partner domain
|
|
Form
|
Not applicable
|
Not applicable
|
Social partners' role in the
implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:
-
No involvement
-
Main level of involvement: N/A
Involvement
The social partners were not involved in the measure.
Views and reactions
Organised labour (Chamber of Labour AK and the Austrian Trade Union Federation ÖGB) are generally welcoming of this measure, as "in terms of distribution policy, [it] tends to be positive because the relief is independent of income and therefore has a relatively stronger effect in the lower income brackets". Furthermore, the organisations welcome that the regional gradation is no longer applied and people in urban areas are no longer disadvantaged (by receiving smaller payments).
Organised business on the other hand (Federal Economic Chamber WKO) is generally sceptical of the CO2-pricing and has proposed to postpone its implementation by one to two years. At the same time, the commerce section of the WKO welcomes that all those recipients who have not registered a bank account with the financial administration will receive the bonus in the form of vouchers, to be used at domestic companies.
Sources
-
17 June 2022: First analysis anti-inflation package
(www.arbeiterkammer.at)
-
24 August 2022: https://www.bmf.gv.at/presse/pressemeldungen/2022/August/klima-und-antiteuerungsbonus-frueher.html
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08 September 2022: https://www.klimabonus.gv.at/
-
08 June 2023: Climate bonus 2023 will be increased - payment in autumn
(www.finanz.at)
