The largely returned normality after two years of the corona pandemic, the highest inflation rate in almost 50 years and sharply increased corporate profits are giving the state records in tax revenue. The Treasury was able to collect 49.8 billion euros in the first half of the year. According to the liberal think tank Agenda Austria, the 100 billion euro mark could be exceeded this year.
Calculations by Agenda Austria show double-digit growth rates in all major tax brackets (see chart). For example, revenue from capital gains tax rose by 72.3 percent from EUR 1.4 billion to EUR 2.4 billion in the first half of 2019. Responsible for this are, among other things, the high profits and dividends of large companies such as energy suppliers and mineral oil companies.
According to Agenda Austria economist Marcell Göttert, the current inflation rate is also a reason for the enormous increase in government revenue. Many people “only know about such a high inflation rate from the history books”. Inflation increases revenue for the state, especially in the case of consumption-related taxes such as sales tax. However, the fact that the increase of 14 percent is above the inflation rate of 9.3 percent also speaks for an increased desire to buy among citizens after two years of the pandemic. In the first half of 2022, 17 billion euros were earned from sales tax.
The lowest unemployment rate for 20 years and the rise in wages and salaries due to inflation mean that income tax revenue has also increased by 11.4 percent.
100 billion euros expected
According to Göttert, the records are likely to continue: “It is very possible that a further increase in the second half of the year, which is traditionally stronger, will break the 100 billion barrier for the first time.”
Source: Nachrichten
