Vienna government expands employer levy to workers over 55

The Vienna city government, led by the SPÖ and supported by NEOS, is proceeding with plans to expand the employer levy (Dienstgeberabgabe) to include employees over the age of 55. SPÖ City Councilor Barbara Novak defended the move, stating that lower non-wage labor costs would not influence job creation or the employment of older workers and that previous exemptions were no longer appropriate.

Opposition members from the ÖVP have criticized the decision, arguing that increasing labor costs burdens the economy and makes it harder to create new jobs. ÖVP representatives Ingrid Korosec and Hannes Taborsky claimed the policy contradicts the administration's stated goal of keeping people in employment until retirement age and accused the government of having a spending problem rather than a revenue problem.