Austria to introduce balanced budget + 60% debt cap law
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  Austria to introduce balanced budget + 60% debt cap law
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Author Topic: Austria to introduce balanced budget + 60% debt cap law  (Read 4158 times)
Tender Branson
Mark Warner 08
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« Reply #25 on: December 02, 2011, 02:39:11 AM »

Fitch has just given Austria the AAA rating again.

Moody's has now said that they welcome the steps that were taken to control spending and lower the future debt. They'll probably also keep the AAA rating.

The big unknown is S&P.

Moody's has just given Austria the AAA rating again, with a "stable" outlook.

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http://kurier.at/nachrichten/4451602.php
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Tender Branson
Mark Warner 08
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Posts: 58,172
Austria


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« Reply #26 on: December 03, 2011, 03:28:20 AM »

Like most Americans, Austrians are also very sceptical that our politicians will be able to enforce the constitutional balanced budget amendment + 60% debt cap with spending cuts etc.

69% think that the politicians will fail
26% think that the politicians will succeed

http://www.ots.at/presseaussendung/OTS_20111203_OTS0003/profil-umfrage-mehrheit-der-oesterreicher-glaubt-nicht-an-baldigen-staatsschuldenabbau
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Tender Branson
Mark Warner 08
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« Reply #27 on: December 03, 2011, 03:32:34 AM »

And it looks like we have an agreement:

The BZÖ has now said they will vote for the law on Wednesday and said that their demands could be implemented later on.

http://www.oe24.at/oesterreich/politik/BZOe-vor-Zustimmung-Die-Schulden-Bremse-ist-fix/48250117
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Tender Branson
Mark Warner 08
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« Reply #28 on: December 05, 2011, 02:26:30 AM »

And it looks like we have an agreement:

The BZÖ has now said they will vote for the law on Wednesday and said that their demands could be implemented later on.

http://www.oe24.at/oesterreich/politik/BZOe-vor-Zustimmung-Die-Schulden-Bremse-ist-fix/48250117

Argh, f**k the sensationalist Ö24 paper !

It now seem they are still negotiating a deal and nothing is sure yet.

And now the Upper Austrian SPÖ MP's are revolting against the federal SPÖ because they think the Social Welfare state will be destroyed with a constitutional balanced budget amendment + 60% debt cap.

Looks like we have to wait until the vote on Wednesday ... Tongue
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Tender Branson
Mark Warner 08
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Austria


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« Reply #29 on: December 05, 2011, 05:16:54 AM »

The BZÖ has just given a press conference in which it said that it will vote against the law.

http://derstandard.at/1322872927027/Keine-Verfassungsmehrheit-BZOe-sagt-Nein-zu-Schuldenbremse
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Tender Branson
Mark Warner 08
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« Reply #30 on: December 08, 2011, 02:57:07 AM »

So, the "normal" law (instead of the constitutional one) was passed yesterday. Here's an article

VIENNA — Triple-A-rated Austria Wednesday passed legislation obliging the country to cut its national debt and move towards a near-balanced budget, a key element in eurozone plans to tighten fiscal policy.

The move is line with a eurozone leaders' pledge in October to write rules on balanced budgets into national legislation, something achieved by very few members so far.

Chancellor Werner Faymann's coalition failed however to get the required support of two-thirds of MPs to have the so-called "golden rule" on balanced budgets enshrined in the wealthy Alpine country's constitution.

Instead MPs passed a normal law which can be overturned by a simple majority in parliament. It obliges the government to limit the "structural" or non-cyclical federal deficit to 0.35 percent of output from 2017.

Austria's deficit is expected to fall to 3.9 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year and 3.2 percent next year, while debt is set to inch up from 73.6 percent of GDP this year to 74.6 percent in 2012.

So far among major eurozone members, only Germany and Spain have passed similar legislation. In France, the opposition Socialists have said they will vote against a proposed budget limit that needs 60-percent support to pass.

Excessive debts, built up after decades of countries living beyond their means, are one of the main factors behind the eurozone crisis, with investors unwilling to buy bonds issued by countries already deep in the red.

Faymann has said Austria, one of the few eurozone countries to have maintained its top-notch triple-A credit rating, would have to achieve around two billion euros ($2.7 billion) in savings every year.

To this end, MPs also overwhelmingly voted in favour Wednesday of receiving no pay rise this year. Lawmakers in Austria, which has the lowest unemployment rate in the EU, have received no salary increase since mid-2008.

With the "grand coalition" government unable to agree on much, it is unclear where else the axe will fall, however.

Rating agency Moody's last month welcomed Austria's moves towards adopting the "golden rule", saying it "indicates a strong political commitment to sound public finances."

It noted however that a "significant" acceleration in deficit reduction was needed to meet the target.

Standard & Poor's warned Monday that it could downgrade Austria and the five other eurozone countries that still have triple-A ratings -- including Germany and France -- if leaders failed to get to grips with the crisis.

A cut of one notch, from AAA to AA+, would increase Austria's interest payments on its debt by three billion euros ($4.0 billion) each year, the government has said.

S&P said it would complete a review of 15 countries' ratings "as soon as possible" following a EU summit starting in Brussels late Thursday billed as the last chance to save the beleaguered single currency.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gam4P1az67fc2UufEoIIJLfa7aCQ?docId=CNG.c6ef1dc4cfba309509cc25ae1c3ce0f6.331
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Tender Branson
Mark Warner 08
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« Reply #31 on: December 11, 2011, 03:53:37 AM »

After the latest EU summit (excl. the UK) agreed that all countries should implement a CBBA, Austria's government will now try again to find a 2/3 majority for such an amendment. They will focus again on the BZÖ and Greens, even though they still have their demands.

Maybe the ÖVP could be persuaded for a change in the tax code, so that high-income earners pay higher taxes (a so called temporary solidarity-tax), so that it can avoid a wealth tax for those having assets of more than 1 Mio. €

The Greens' demand for their 2/3 support is some sort of wealth tax, so if the ÖVP agrees to this "lesser evil", the Greens could vote for it in a compromise later next year. Maybe they can also bring the BZÖ into the boat, but that's more unlikely because they have higher demands.
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Tender Branson
Mark Warner 08
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« Reply #32 on: January 16, 2012, 05:51:06 AM »

So, the SPÖVP coalition plans to reduce the deficit this year further by increasing a few taxes and control spending. Details should be ready by the end of February. Here is what Austrians want and what they don't want, according to the new Market poll:

TAX REVENUES



higher income taxes for top-earners
higher tobacco taxes
penalties for companies who send their workers into early retirement
higher alcohol taxes
higher real estate taxes

what they don't want:

higher taxes for low incomes
higher value-added tax
higher gas tax
higher property taxes
introduction of the death tax

SPENDING CUTS



eliminate the early retirements in the state rail company ÖBB
eliminate the Bundesrat (upper chamber of Parliament)
stop the hiring of public employees
teachers should work more hours
delay infrastructure projects such as building big tunnels
cut state funding for Arts

what they don't want:

raise the retirement age in general (no age mentioned)

...

Alltogether, only 6% of Austrians want to reduce the budget deficit only with tax increases, while 46% want it reduced by spending cuts only and 47% say they want a mix of spending cuts and tax increases (which is what will most likely happen anyway).

http://derstandard.at/1326502773697/Umfrage-Mehrheit-akzeptiert-hoehere-Steuern-fuer-Budgetsanierung
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Jerseyrules
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« Reply #33 on: January 30, 2012, 11:46:54 PM »

Will be passed today. There will be a 60% debt cap starting with 2020, steadily down from the 72% of debt now. The budget should be balanced from 2016 on, down from the current 3% deficit.

SPÖ, ÖVP, FPÖ, BZÖ will vote for the measure, the Greens will vote against it.

The ÖVP wants to primarily reform the pension system, by raising the "real" pension entry ages to 65. Austrians are record holders in early retirement. They also want to cut spending for the ÖBB (rail and bus system).

The SPÖ wants to raise taxes on the Wealthy instead and cut spending for bureaucracy (merging smaller towns and cities) as well as reforming the health-care system and cuts in agriculture subsidies.

Well, a lot to do in the next 9 years. The first reforms and spending cuts will probably be agreed on next year.

http://derstandard.at/1319182819077/Sparkurs-Regierung-plant-Notoperation-am-Budget

http://diepresse.com/home/politik/innenpolitik/708598/Schuldenbremse-fix-Sparpaket-folgt

Congratulations! I wish Austria well going forward this is a very big deal!
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Tender Branson
Mark Warner 08
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« Reply #34 on: February 08, 2012, 01:07:41 PM »

Congratulations! I wish Austria well going forward this is a very big deal!

It's not THAT big of a deal, because it turned out that the Opposition (FPÖ/Greens/BZÖ) blocked all efforts to pass a constitutional balanced budget amendment + 60% debt cap.

And because SPÖVP didn't have the necessary 2/3 majority for a constitutional change, they just passed a simple law. That's why I changed the thread title ... Wink

But:

It seems the SPÖVP government can actually get budget-balancing things done, even without a CBBA. They are currently finishing their talks about a 26-30 billion € spending cut/tax increase package that will be unveiled in the next weeks. This package will run until 2016 and consolidate the Austrian budget by roughly 5-6 billion € each year, so that the country will have no deficit by 2016 or 2017. Newspaper reports suggest the final deal will be made up of about 70% spending cuts and 30% tax increases. But it could also end up 75/25, because the ÖVP wants more spending cuts rather than tax increases.

Both parties have taken a look at areas that will not hurt the broader middle class and cripple the solid economy. So the major consolidation areas will be:

* Pensions: reform of pension entry ages, real entry age will steadily raised to 65 from an average 58 years (Austrians are record-holders in early retirement, due to the historically strong pension representatives in the "old parties" SPÖ and ÖVP). Early retirement for women (60) will steadily be phased out and be tied to the men's age of 65. Early retirement for physically damaged people (due to accidents, sickness, etc.) will be heavily restricted, so that people stay longer in the work process (you need at least 15 years of work to apply and then you have heavy deductions). A new "corridor-pension" will also be introduced: People aged 62+ with at least 37,5 insurance years can apply for this system in which they have to pay deductions of 4,2% annually until they are 65. Social Security payments will be raised by 0,5% annually for all (?) pensions, but SPÖVP have said a good deal will be invested in future care for seniors. This should save about 8 billion € until 2016.

* Bureaucrats: Freeze in new hirings, but no firings. Administrative reforms such as merging county courts etc. Should save about 2,7 billion €

* ÖBB (state rail): 1,4 billions in savings, due to a review of much-needed infrastructure projects and an end of early retirements for their employees.

* Health Care/Hospitals/ELGA: 1,8 billions in savings due to reforms in this sector, introduction of ELGA (Electronic Health Report System) which makes it easier to share information between doctors, hospitals, emergency personnell etc.

* Subsidies/Social Transfers: Will be cut by about 800 million $, mainly agriculture etc.

* States/Cities: will consolidate their budgets by about 5,2 billion €

* New Taxes: at least 7 billion € in new taxes, primarily focused on the Rich: real estate sales tax, higher taxes for high-income earners, reform in group-taxing

http://derstandard.at/1328507151900/Da-wird-gespart-Die-grossen-Brocken
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