In favor of SPÖ tax plans

The luxury pensions of 9000 central bankers

The luxury pensions at the National Bank were limited by law - to 9000 euros.(Bild: Wolfgang Spitzbart)

Several advocates of a wealth tax are themselves practically a case for Babler's millionaire's tax.

For years, the luxury pensions at the Austrian National Bank have caused quite a stir. Around 120 million euros are still reserved in reserves at the OeNB for princely pensions. This concerns around 9,000 people or future beneficiaries whose pensions are limited to a good 9,000 euros (!) following a change in the law last year.

Denouncing social injustice
Now two of these future special pensioners have caused a stir again. This is because the central bankers Pirmin Fessler and Martin Schürz, as authors of the study, advocated a wealth tax and thus supported the plans of SPÖ leader Andreas Babler. According to insider information, however, the very researchers who repeatedly denounce social injustice are themselves benefiting massively from the outdated luxury pension. Schürz also recently called for a cap on assets in a book. According to reports, more than a whopping five million euros are currently reserved for each of them.

The sum for Helene Schuberth, the union's chief economist and retired OeNB economist (once an advisor to ex-SPÖ Chancellor Gusenbauer, who fell out of favor in the Benko case), is also said to be in this range. All three central bankers would therefore be a quasi-case for Babler's millionaires' tax.