Vienna’s much-debated “culture euro” is dead, but the city’s search for fresh revenue to fund its cultural scene is far from over. Both the culture and finance departments say they are still looking for “new ways” to secure “sustainable financing” for Vienna’s cultural landscape and that could mean asking residents to pay more directly, reported by the Heute.
According to reports in the Kronen Zeitung, options now on the table include a new form of tax on admission tickets, a general household levy, or a mix of both. One idea, however, appears to be off the table: an extra charge on the hotel tourist tax is not under consideration, the office of Finance City Councillor Barbara Novak has made clear.
Neither the finance nor the culture department has ruled out a household charge or a new burden on event tickets, the newspaper says. For Vienna, a household levy would not be entirely new: until 2024, households paid a monthly surcharge of €15.30 on top of the ORF broadcasting fee, a model abolished following pressure from the Neos party.
Data from the Austrian Event Industry Interest Group shows who would have borne the brunt of the scrapped “culture euro.” Their calculations suggest 57% of the burden would have fallen on Vienna’s own population, outside high culture and avant-garde events. In total, the extra charge would have raised around €56 million in the city, with foreign visitors accounting for 29% and guests from other Austrian provinces for 14%.
The group points to ticket revenue as an example: federal theatres generate about €65 million a year, while Vienna’s cinemas turn over €114 million with 95% of cinema-goers said to be from Vienna itself.
Even with the “culture euro” gone, the events industry says the debate is not over. It is calling on the mayor to keep his word and provide “planning security for culture and a future for artists and the cultural location Vienna.” Their demand is clear: no return to “new punitive taxes from Vienna City Hall” for the culture and events sector.
The “culture euro” may be history, but which “new paths” Vienna will take to fund culture remains open as talks continue.
