Request to the government

Chamber of Commerce: “Fairy tales must come to an end”

The business community has put forward its wishes to the future federal and state governments: no new taxes, less bureaucracy and "rewards" for the "hard-working".

The President of the Chamber of Commerce, Andreas Wirth, is calling for fewer "brake pads" and more cooperation from politicians. Especially in this difficult economic situation, additional incentives are needed to encourage people to spend money and companies to invest. "This is the only way to boost the economy. Placing additional burdens on them now is completely the wrong approach," says Wirth. He is pushing for a reduction in non-wage labor costs. This is because taxes on labor in Austria are as high as those on cigarettes and schnapps. A reduction, on the other hand, would benefit both employers and employees.

"Performance must be rewarded"
At the same time, people need to be motivated to work hard. The welfare state currently operates in such a way that people are offered a "comfortable hammock". A way must therefore be found to reward people for over-performance, for example through tax-free overtime or working in retirement. "Performance must be rewarded," emphasizes the head of the Chamber of Commerce.

Signal against bureaucracy
The business representative also expects "clear signals" with regard to the "escalating bureaucracy". According to Wirth, one-person companies spend around 20 hours a week dealing with bureaucracy alone.

More cooperation
Basically, more cooperation is needed. "Let's just take the planned reduction in working hours - many orders could no longer be fulfilled, many services would disappear from the market, and much less money would flow into the social security system, which would reduce health insurance benefits, for example. We will not be able to maintain our welfare state as we know it if people work less. We have to put an end to this fairy tale," says Wirth.

Only time will tell whether he will be listened to by politicians.