Finance Minister Marterbauer announces radical measures against fraud!

Finance Minister Marterbauer announces radical measures against fraud!

On July 13, 2025, Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer (SPÖ) presented concrete measures to improve the fight against fraud in Austria. As part of the budget restructuring, he is not only planning changes to the law to specifically combat sales tax carousel fraud, but also a comprehensive expansion of controls. These steps are part of a broader strategy aimed at meeting the country's financial objectives while ensuring the integrity of the tax system. In an initial reaction, Marterbauer was optimistic about achieving the budget goals.

However, in the midst of these measures, the Finance Minister admitted that the rating agencies may give Austria's creditworthiness a lower rating. This could be due to the current economic challenges. Fitch downgraded Austria's long-term rating from "AA+" to "AA" in June and Marterbauer expects that other agencies could follow suit. Nevertheless, he does not believe that the current EU deficit procedure will have a significant impact on ratings. He sees the deficit procedure as an exchange of information and not as groundbreaking advice, while he sees the deficit ratio of 4.5% of GDP targeted for 2023 as realistic, especially if the economic situation remains stable.

Focus on combating fraud

A central element in Marterbauer's plan to combat fraud is the installation of a special task force. This should work on concrete measures to significantly increase control and regulations in the area of ​​sales tax crime. The minister plans to generate around 270 million euros through these anti-fraud measures next year. Marterbauer emphasizes that it is necessary to address these challenges decisively, as the integrity of the tax system determines the country's financial stability.

In addition, Marterbauer was open to discussions about property tax reform, provided the municipalities present a uniform model. Another item on his agenda is a proposal for a bonus/penalty system for the employment of older workers, although he makes it clear that this should not be seen as a demand but as a suggestion. The partial pension that has already been approved has been approved by the National Council and is still awaiting regulation for civil servants.

Finally, it remains to be seen how quickly the planned anti-fraud measures can be implemented and whether they will produce the desired results in terms of budget targets and creditworthiness. The coming months will be crucial for the implementation of the financial strategy that Marterbauer has carefully developed to strengthen confidence in the Austrian economy.

For more details about Marterbauer's plans read [derStandard] and [Kurier].