UNOS federal spokesman Michael Bernhard: Non-wage labor costs are far too high in international comparison – options for reducing them have been on the table for a long time
We call on the union representatives to deal with the concrete UNOS proposals for reducing non-wage labor costs instead of making polemical statements without substance
Michael Bernhard, UNOS federal spokesman
Vienna (OTS) – “We call on the union representatives to deal with the concrete UNOS proposals for reducing non-wage labor costs instead of making polemical statements without substance
“, UNOS federal spokesman Michael Bernhard reacts to the statements of ÖGB President Wolfgang Katzian in the Ö1 morning journal. “Anyone who does business in Austria pays higher employer contributions than in almost any other European country. In order to keep up with the competition between locations, we urgently need significant relief. Contrary to Katzian’s views, there are certainly options for reducing non-wage labor costs and they have been on the table for a long time,” says Bernhard.
UNOS are calling for the deletion of Chamber levy 2 (0.38% – with variations per federal state) and other non-employee-related wage costs. They make up around a quarter of the total non-wage labor costs. These include local tax (3.00%), the employer contribution to the family burden equalization fund (3.70%) and housing subsidies (0.50%). “This income benefits the general public, so it should not be financed by employers, but rather from the budget,” says Bernhard. Important: Contrary to Katzian’s statements, this would not result in a reduction in social or pension insurance benefits for employees.
According to the OECD study “Taxing Wages”, Austria has the fourth highest “tax wedge” among the 38 OECD member countries at 46.8 percent for 2022 due to the high non-wage labor costs. This information includes not only employee contributions, but also employer contributions. The OECD average was 34.6 percent.
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