Upper Austria is coming through the Corona crisis more successfully than other federal states and is now fighting the consequences of the Ukraine war, inflation and the impending recession next year, said Achleitner at the presentation of the “Future Budget 2023 for the location”. “It is a feat of strength to be prepared and secured for the future.” The department of the VP politician bundles the economy, labor market, energy, science and research, regional planning, but also tourism, sport and the state holding company. On the income side, the country is benefiting from inflation and thus the higher tax revenue.
Spending of around 425 million euros is estimated for the coming year. That was 59.9 million euros more than this year and more than ever before, said Achleitner, who took over the department from Michael Strugl in 2018. The increase over five years is 129 million euros.
There are four priorities for 2023: economy (labour market, tourism, broadband), science and research, spatial planning and energy. The largest chunk of the 425 million euros is accounted for by the economy at 121.5 million euros.
The biggest percentage increase is in energy, said Achleitner. Almost 35 million euros are estimated here, after around 20 million euros this year. “Upper Austria is already playing a pioneering role in the energy transition, but we want to speed things up even more,” said the Provincial Councilor. The subsidies for biomass heating systems and the replacement of fossil heating systems would therefore also be increased, above all because of the rush of applications. In the future, ten instead of three million euros will be available in this area.
Additional leeway
Achleitner also has high hopes for the newly created “future fund”, which was already an issue in the state budget. By 2026, 200 million euros will be available every year across all state departments. This money is to be used primarily for public transport, broadband expansion, the energy industry and research funding. Of the 200 million euros, 61.6 million euros are “new money”. As before, 98 million euros will come from the department budgets, 40 million euros from the current “Upper Austria Plan”. The future fund is intended to provide additional budgetary flexibility, says Achleitner.
The SPÖ, Greens and Neos had already criticized the future fund two weeks ago. Much is “well known”, there is “hardly any new money”, said Greens club boss Severin Mayr, for example. SPÖ economics and labor spokesman Hans-Karl Schaller complained today that Achleitner was forgetting a strategy to combat the shortage of skilled workers and the potential of women on the labor market.
Source: Nachrichten
