Only the SPÖ is still in favor of it
NEOS now wants to “reverse” the parcel tax!
One day before their general meeting in Linz, NEOS is making waves. Party members are calling the parcel tax—which the government itself just introduced—a “mess.” Now they want to push to have it repealed quickly.
Kronen Zeitung als bevorzugte Google-Quelle hinzufügen Barely introduced and already marked for elimination: Following the ÖVP, NEOS now also wants to repeal the controversial parcel tax. The tax is “a botched job” and has gone completely awry. The NEOS, who are holding a members’ meeting in Linz on Saturday, now want to bring the issue to the coalition—and have a prominent ally in the ÖVP. “Taking responsibility also means correcting what isn’t working,” the NEOS say. It has already become clear in the first few days just how many problems the tax is causing. Since October 1, mail-order companies with more than 100 million euros in domestic sales have been paying two euros per package—2.40 euros including sales tax.
The goal was missed
The core of the criticism: The tax was actually intended to target low-cost foreign platforms. However, this is not possible under EU law. “Now it’s hitting European online retailers, and in many cases, customers have to pay it,” says the smallest coalition partner. Books, medications, and household goods are becoming more expensive. “So people are ending up paying for the food price cuts themselves.” That’s exactly what the package tax is supposed to help finance.
The Pink Party plans to recoup the budgeted 280 million euros per year through savings within the system: restructuring grants and eliminating small-scale subsidies.
Hattmannsdorfer is also “not happy”
ÖVP Economy Minister Wolfgang Hattmannsdorfer had already expressed similar sentiments in advance. He said he was “not happy” with the parcel tax and was “no fan of the parcel levy.” So far, however, he has cited the government pact. Should courts or the European Commission deem parts of it unlawful, he expects amendments. Those changes are likely to come: The Retail Association has filed a complaint in Brussels, Zalando is taking the matter to the Constitutional Court, and Otto is challenging the tax assessments. Only the Ministry of Finance, led by Markus Marterbauer—soon to be Vice Chancellor and perhaps also SPÖ leader—has so far stood by the tax.
This article has been automatically translated,
read the original article here.
Willkommen in unserer Community! Eingehende Beiträge werden geprüft und anschließend veröffentlicht. Bitte achten Sie auf Einhaltung unserer Netiquette und AGB. Für ausführliche Diskussionen steht Ihnen ebenso das krone.at-Forum zur Verfügung. Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.
Hinweis in eigener Sache: Schon bald erwartet Sie auf krone.at ein rundum erneuerter Forenbereich mit vielen neuen Features! Mehr Informationen finden Sie hier.
User-Beiträge geben nicht notwendigerweise die Meinung des Betreibers/der Redaktion bzw. von Krone Multimedia (KMM) wieder. In diesem Sinne distanziert sich die Redaktion/der Betreiber von den Inhalten in diesem Diskussionsforum. KMM behält sich insbesondere vor, gegen geltendes Recht verstoßende, den guten Sitten oder der Netiquette widersprechende bzw. dem Ansehen von KMM zuwiderlaufende Beiträge zu löschen, diesbezüglichen Schadenersatz gegenüber dem betreffenden User geltend zu machen, die Nutzer-Daten zu Zwecken der Rechtsverfolgung zu verwenden und strafrechtlich relevante Beiträge zur Anzeige zu bringen (siehe auch AGB). Hier können Sie das Community-Team via unserer Melde- und Abhilfestelle kontaktieren.