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From the fall, between 145 and 290 euros will be paid to all eligible persons in Austria. The Climate Ministry is talking about a record.
The climate bonus is now entering its third round. From fall 2024—last year, it started at the beginning of September—between 145 and 290 euros will be paid out per person. According to information provided by the Climate Ministry of Leonore Gewessler, a total of 8,688,437 people in Austria are eligible this year
More than 90 percent, or 7,841,515 people, will have the climate bonus transferred directly to their account—completely automatically. No application is necessary. That is 6 percent more than the year the climate bonus was introduced in 2022, a new record.
“There are more direct transfers than ever before,” says the Climate Ministry, attributing this success to various measures. In addition to information campaigns, the Ministry of Finance has improved the FinanzOnline online service: “It is now easier and less complicated to confirm or update your account details.”
In addition, transfers are to be made “faster than ever before” this year. The Climate Ministry plans to carry out 2.1 million transactions in one day and is pushing the pedal to the metal; in the first year, the federal agencies in charge only managed 300,000 transactions a day. At this rate, the climate bonus would be transferred to the 7.8 million people entitled to it within four days.
The remaining 846,922 will continue to receive their climate bonus by post. That’s around 400,000 voucher letters or around 30 percent fewer postal deliveries than in 2022, the year of introduction.
“With the eco-social tax reform and the climate bonus, we have firmly anchored climate protection in the Austrian tax system. The climate bonus is there for everyone and ensures climate-friendly behavior pays off. The better we protect our climate, the more we have left over in the end,” says Climate Protection Minister Gewessler about the important political project.
The climate bonus is also “one of the largest digitalization projects in the country,” according to number 2 on the Green Party’s election list for the autumn: “Never before has a benefit been paid out to so many people in such a short time. That’s something to be proud of across Europe.”
The climate bonus is a compensatory measure for CO2 pricing and an important part of the eco-social tax reform. On the cut-off date, all people who have had their main residence in Austria for over six months are eligible.
The amount depends on where you live. In addition to the basic amount of 145 euros, there is a regional allowance depending on the availability of public transport. This results in four payment levels of 145, 195, 245, and 290 euros.
The Gewessler department says that half of the regional supplement is given to children and young people up to the age of 18, and people with restricted mobility always receive the highest regional supplement.
And “to increase the social impact,” the climate bonus must be taxed on an annual taxable income of more than 66,612 euros. According to the Ministry of Finance, this corresponds to a gross monthly income of around 6,660 euros. Those affected fall into at least the third-highest tax bracket, with a marginal tax rate of 48%. The climate bonus thus shrinks to between 75.4 and 150.8 euros for them. “With this change, we are following a recommendation from the economic research institute,” emphasizes the ministry.
Overall, our country’s inhabitants should benefit directly from the eco-social tax reform through the climate bonus. The motto of the Climate Protection Ministry is: “Those who protect the climate save on CO2 pricing and end up with a particularly large climate bonus.”
- source: heute.at/picture: klimabonus.gv.at
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