VIENNA: Austria’s Green Party has renewed its call for an inheritance tax on large fortunes, with party leader Leonore Gewessler accusing the government of protecting the country’s richest families while ordinary people face rising costs.
At an event outside the Vienna Chamber of Commerce, Gewessler also appealed to voters disappointed with the Social Democratic Party (SPÖ). While the SPÖ was “busy with itself,” she said, the Greens were working hard for an open-minded society at a time when liberal and democratic values were under pressure around the world, according to News ORF.
“The Greens are the alternative,” Gewessler said. She argued that the SPÖ had also failed inside the government to demand a fair contribution from the super-rich.
According to Gewessler, influential groups in the Federation of Austrian Industries, the Chamber of Commerce and the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) were still defending what she called “tax escape routes” for wealthy people and those who inherit millions.
At the same time, she said, daily life was becoming more expensive for most people in Austria, while adjustments to social and family benefits had been suspended.
“A mother who works part-time has to pay 700 euros more, while someone who inherits millions does not,” Gewessler said. “There is nothing fair about that.”
The Greens are proposing a tax on inheritances worth more than 1 million euros. Under their model, the larger the inheritance, the higher the contribution would be. The party has also supported targeted exemptions for family homes and small or medium-sized businesses.
The proposal is part of the Greens’ wider demand for greater social fairness. However, the governing parties have not secured political agreement on introducing a new inheritance tax, leaving the issue at the centre of Austria’s continuing debate over wealth and economic justice.
