It’s just not possible anymore – the extremely difficult situation of some pensioners can be summarized as simply as that. Because of the inflation, they have to work instead of retiring – gardening instead of going on vacation.
Inflation as a motivational reason
“Like everyone in our industry, we are looking for employees. We are still missing three or four employees and we have also advertised this in the media. Retirees have also signed up. I was very happy regarding that and then I called her and asked how great the interest was and the interest was very great,” says Johann Haberl, the owner of the Hotel Larimar in Stegersbach.
A total of four pensioners were subsequently employed in the hotel. One of them is Joseph Oboykovits. The 65-year-old retired three years ago and is now back at work. Among other things, to offset the effects of inflation. “The thing is, I retired at 62 and 47 years of contributions, but at a discount. That means I had a discount of 12.6 percent and now I wanted to balance and cover that, but inflation is of course another motivator,” says Oboykovits.
High tax rate of up to 43 percent
He is satisfied with his work as a gardener, also with the salary that he gets here as a part-time employee. The problem is the taxes. The pensioner has to pay up to 43 percent of his total income to the state. “That means that I have to pay back 4.80 euros of the approximately 10 euros per hour. I would also get everything paid out here, only in the wage tax procedure I would have to pay everything back next year and to be honest I don’t want to do that,” says Oboykovits.
Politicians demand quick solutions
This is not an isolated case; the other pensioners who work here also complain that the tax rates are far too high. “That’s why we demand a special solution from politicians for special problems. If someone works part-time, there should be an allowance up to the part-time limit of 485 euros, ideally higher with up to 700 euros. This would also enable us to make better use of the people and that would be the promotion for us, so to speak,” says hotel operator Haberl.
A solution that Joseph Oboykovits does not want to wait for, at least for now. After only a month he decided to give up his job as a gardener. “Because I really think the tax rate of a good 42 percent is very high. That means I would work 35 minutes for my pocket and 25 minutes for the treasury – and that’s not possible,” said Oboykovits.
As is so often the case, we are currently waiting for a reaction from politicians. After all, if the tax rate were to be significantly reduced, Joseph Oboykovits would immediately go back to work.
