If you take an average Vorarlberg monthly wage, this is 2,300 euros gross, according to the state office for statistics. This also includes part-time employees. Currently you get 1,680 euros net for this salary, so actually transferred to the account. From January 1st there will be 26 euros more – that is 1,705 euros per month. This results on the one hand from the abolition of cold progression and from the new tax rates for the new year.
A single mother with a twelve-year-old child who has an average gross income of 2,300 euros will even receive 38 euros more per month from January. Seen over the year, that is 530 euros. With a monthly salary of 3,500 euros gross, 57 euros more will be transferred in future, i.e. almost 800 euros a year. here you can calculate the change in their income.
What does “cold progression” mean?
Due to the cold progression, it used to be the case that with a salary increase you often slipped into a higher tax bracket. With the result that there was hardly anything left of the higher salary. Many governments have already promised to abolish cold progression, now the time has come, the Council of Ministers decided on Wednesday to end cold progression.
As a result, the country could be short of over 100 million in 2026
Many people in the country should therefore have more money in their pockets from January. The federal government, on the other hand, will have less in its coffers. By abolishing cold progression, the federal government foregoes tax revenues of over 1.2 billion euros per year.
This means that there will also be less money for Vorarlberg, says Governor Markus Wallner (ÖVP): “There are calculations that also show that the state of Vorarlberg may be missing an amount well over 100 million euros in 2026. What is of course not taken into account, and that can still change, is that this also triggers consumption.”
According to Wallner, these are only initial assessments, one still has to be careful, there are no precise calculations at the moment. But one must also see that this means that the local authorities are deprived of money.
Wallner: “Don’t believe in tax increases”
Wallner believes and hopes that the abolition of cold progression will not, conversely, lead to increases elsewhere. Nobody can use that: “I don’t believe in tax increases, we have to see now that the burden on the citizens can be further relieved. In any case, it is clear that local authorities will have to exercise moderation in their spending over the next few years.”
But you have to see that the inflation wave is currently enormous. This affects a large number of citizens, especially those with low incomes. It is absolutely necessary to take sustainable steps now. According to Wallner, this is not done with one-off payments alone.