Nothing has been finalized yet. On Thursday, coalition negotiators Hubert Fuchs (FPÖ) and August Wöginger did not reveal any details of their 6.39 billion euro savings package. At least Fuchs said, “The fees for passports and driving licenses have not been increased since 2011; we will make up for that.”
An annual inflation increase in federal fees is actually planned, but the ÖVP finance ministers of recent years have always generously refrained from doing so. The extent to which they have followed suit has not yet been revealed. However, if you take Fuchs and Wöginger literally, the increase could be more than substantial.
Inflation amounted to 44%
The last time fees rose was in 2011; if you calculate the inflation incurred to date, you are in for a surprise: according to Statistics Austria’s inflation calculator, prices rose by at least 44% (!) between January 2012 and December 2024.
Will the passport break the 100-euro barrier in the future?
Once again, the FPÖ and ÖVP did not want to say how much the fees will now be raised, but if the entire increase is made up for, passports, driving licenses, and car registrations will become an expensive pleasure.
Passport: A regular passport costs 75.90 euros; if the full inflation is adjusted, it would be 109.30 euros. An emergency passport would even cost 144 euros.
Driving license: A driving license currently costs 60.50 euros (excluding doctor and examination fees). Valorized by 44%, it would suddenly be 87.50 euros. A driving license with a credit card would cost 71.30 euros instead of the current 49.5 euros.
Registration: Motor vehicle registration would become very expensive—you would have to pay 119.80 euros to the registration authority. If the fee is increased by 44%, it would be 172.51 euros.
Increase to bring in millions
It is also unclear when the fee increase will occur, which would logically be 1 July. The only thing that is certain is the amount it will bring the tax authorities, namely 65 million euros.
- source: oe24.at/picture: pixabay.com
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