Austrian government confirms tax cut plan

The Austrian federal government Tuesday officially decided on the key points of its new tax reform package, which will include the largest payroll tax cuts in 70 years, worth 5.3 billion U.S. dollars in total.

The decision aimed to stimulate the country's economy in a relatively difficult time and no noticeable changes were made to the reform package which was first presented late last week.

Following the government meeting, Chancellor Werner Faymann said the package had been confirmed "as scheduled, on time."

Both Faymann and Vice-Chancellor Reinhold Mitterlehner ruled out any major changes to the package, which is now going through the parliamentary process.

The two leaders said large portions of the reform financing will come from lifting banking secrecy laws during tax audits, expected to bring about 740 million dollars, and from the compulsory use of cash registers for cash-based businesses that make over 15,800 dollars a year, expected to bring 950 million dollars.

In response to the announced reforms, the Austrian Fiscal Advisory Council warned Tuesday that while the payroll tax cuts will stimulate economic growth, Austria may be significantly hampered from reaching EU-set budget targets as a result. Endi