Outgoing minister

Brunner goes on the offensive and defends his balance sheet

Magnus Brunner: The future EU Commissioner is not uncontroversial as Finance Minister in Austria.

(Bild: AFP/Nicolas Tucat)

The outgoing Finance Minister and future EU Commissioner has to listen to criticism from industry representatives as he leaves. He counters and argues with generally volatile times.

Magnus Brunner has barely passed the entrance exam to become an EU Commissioner when some gentlemen from the Federation of Austrian Industries (IV) give him poor marks for his work as Finance Minister. A corresponding paper was sent to the "Krone".

Minister defends his record
The minister went on the offensive in a background interview on Wednesday and tried to defend his record. His biggest achievement was definitely the abolition of cold progression, which had been demanded for decades. The biggest point of criticism was the budget deficit, for which he was partly responsible.

Budget deficit almost one percent higher than expected
Shortly after the election, Magnus Brunner raised the forecast from 2.9 to 3.3 percent of GDP, which is above the Maastricht limit of three percent. Experts such as Christoph Badelt from the Fiscal Council had long been predicting a higher deficit. Incidentally, Badelt recently raised the forecast to 4.1 percent. As you can see, this is a highly volatile area.

This is also the argument of the ministry. The BMF requires various current data. Such as from Statistics Austria and WIFO. Without this, the ministry would not be able to create new forecasts. Earlier than shortly after the election would not have been possible either. It is also clear that the experts' forecasts definitely reveal "uncertainties and downward revisions", as the minister states.

Money laundering regulations as a construction site?
The recommendation of the FATF (Financial Action Task Force - money laundering regulations) from 2016 has not been sufficiently implemented in Austria. The situation in Austria will be reviewed again at the end of 2024. This unpopular topic has remained in the ministry for years. Most recently, the Financial Market Money Laundering Act was sent out with a review period of one (!) week. There is a threat of a deterioration in the rating ranking. Brunner's ministry points to complex developments, including the war in Ukraine. However, it is confident "that the parliamentary process will proceed satisfactorily in view of the ongoing FATF country review."

Corona funding in tourism still pending
Well over 1000 tourism businesses are still waiting for promised corona funding. This is due to ambiguities in guidelines created by the legislator. Another problem concerns the deadlines for submitting applications. Austria has subsequently submitted proposals for solutions to both problems, which were approved by the EU a year ago. They have not yet been implemented. This information is incorrect, according to the Ministry of Finance. All affected companies have been contacted - the application deadline was October 31: "All applications are under review, so there is no problem here."

Gambling concessions
Ibiza also brought gambling into the public eye (Strache on Ibiza: "Novomatic pays everyone"). In February 2024, the Ministry of Finance announced that it would begin the process of awarding new concessions. However, nothing concrete has happened to date. This is such a sensitive issue. According to Brunner's ministry, the tax office has to prepare and carry out the tender. The granting of the license must be preceded by a public search for interested parties.

In addition to the creation of an independent gambling authority, the aim was also to amend the law, including new player protection measures. "Unfortunately, no agreement was reached with the coalition partner." So here, too, it is more or less a work in progress. This topic will therefore also be left to the next finance minister.