Vienna’s city government agrees on a second home tax, thereby creating intolerable burdens for citizens.
Vienna (OTS) – In the fight against inflation, the federal government decided a few weeks ago to limit fees in order to relieve the burden on people. The Vienna coalition government of SPÖ and NEOS is reacting to this fee freeze by introducing a second home tax. This tax is due for people who, in addition to their main residence, have a second home in Vienna – regardless of whether they are registered as a secondary residence.
Second home taxes are also vacancy taxes through the back door
ÖHGB President RA Dr. Martin Prunbauer: “This tax not only affects many people who urgently need their apartment for professional or family reasons. In this way, a vacancy tax is created through the back door,” Prunbauer states soberly. According to the proposed law, only those apartments that could not be rented out at the local rent over a period of six months despite proven appropriate efforts are exempt from the tax. “So anyone who fails to provide this proof must pay the tax. If the apartment in question is empty for more than six months, there is an obligation to surrender it.”
As a rule, the obligation to submit property falls on the owner
The tenant is only liable to pay the tax if the apartment in question is rented, leased or otherwise provided for a fee for at least six months of the calendar year (if it is used as a secondary residence). Anyone who makes their apartment available to someone else free of charge – as part of a loan or a precarious agreement – or lets it out for less than six months for a fee (an exception is made when it is made available under the Vienna Tourism Promotion Act) has to pay the tax.
Things get really complicated when there are multiple reports for the same apartment that are not just primary residence reports. The explanatory notes contain a whole range of different case constellations. Prunbauer: “In the reality of life there are countless, constantly changing constellations. Determining who is or is not liable to pay and for what period of time is like a bad and unfinished crime story.”
Vienna puts a strain on people and creates a bureaucratic monster
The working group “De-bureaucratization and tax review” has drawn up the draft law to introduce a second home tax and sent it for review. “There is little sign of de-bureaucratization in this regard,” says Prunbauer, summing up the situation: “The law, which is due to come into force from 2025, is rather a bureaucratic and extremely complicated colossus that serves to plug budget holes and save people elsewhere The city government wants to use the income from this “fair contribution” to maintain the city’s infrastructure and the cultural sector.
According to Statistics Austria, there are currently 250,000 second homes in the federal capital that could be subject to a tax of between 300 and 550 euros annually. This affects people who often commute to Vienna for work reasons and who will be punished with a second home tax in the future. Family ties also play an important role in second homes. Prunbauer: “None of this has been thought through and is neither fair nor just.”
“The constant demand for new taxes and duties in a high-tax country like Austria makes it unnecessarily difficult to create and maintain property,” emphasizes Prunbauer. “It threatens people’s quality of life and endangers legal security in the country. In addition, such a tax largely affects the top performers in our society.”
More about the ÖHGB
The Austrian House and Landowners Association (ÖHGB, www.oehgb.at) is the largest voluntary interest group for Austrian house, property and apartment owners. The main task of the ÖHGB is to protect and promote private property and to protect the common interests of private property owners. The approximately 30,000 members are divided into nine regional associations, which provide their members with well-founded legal, tax, insurance, construction and financing advice and other extensive information and services. In addition, the ÖHGB and its regional associations pursue active professional policy in the representation of interests at all levels in the interests of their members.
Questions & Contact:
Austrian house and property ownership
Dr. Marie-Theres Ehrendorff
Press spokesperson
Tel.: +43 676 3239 645
marie-theres.ehrendorff@oehgb.at