Bank tax must not hinder reforms

Austria plans to introduce a bank tax and put the 500 million euros in revenues toward balancing the budget. But the tax must not be used as a reason to put off necessary reforms, warns the daily Die Presse: "The bank tax puts a new fissure in the dam against additional expenditures, and we must be careful it doesn't break. Because of course those in power much prefer to turn various tax screws than to cut costs if it means taking on key people in the provinces or the public servants' unions. But that is exactly what we need right now. Because if this crisis isn't used to introduce the state reforms that are continually being postponed, the government can start drafting the bankruptcy petition any time it wants."

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