Austria Hikes Prices While Citizens Suffer: Documents, Transport, and Cigarettes More Expensive from July 1!
Austria is set to increase the prices of issuing documents and services starting July 1, and citizens are already feeling the pinch. The last price hike was a decade ago, and now a shocking 44% increase is coming!
What’s getting more expensive?
Issuing a passport will jump from €75.90 to a whopping €109! Driver’s licenses will cost €71 instead of the previous €49.50. Medical exams and fees related to driver’s licenses will also rise from €60.50 to €87. Electronic cards for licenses will increase from €13.80 to €25, and vehicle registration fees will also go up.
Not only that, issuing ID cards, name change confirmations, and citizenship recognition will become pricier, with wedding fees rising from €50 to €74. Court fees for divorces have already increased in April.
Transport and cigarettes – another blow
Train ticket prices in the Eastern Austria region, including Lower Austria and Burgenland, will increase by 3% due to rising costs and inflation. The climate ticket, which used to cost €1, will be more expensive from August, rising to €1.10.
Cigarettes will cost 10 cents more per pack due to increased tobacco taxes.
Why now?
The Austrian government states that the last price increase was ten years ago, and rising living costs and inflation have pressured the budget. However, citizens wonder why now, when many are already feeling financial strain.
What do citizens say?
Many are outraged and see this as yet another sign that the government doesn’t care about ordinary people. While food and energy prices are already climbing, now documents and transport are getting more expensive too.
Conclusion
Austria is on the brink of a new wave of price hikes that will affect almost everything – from passports to cigarettes. Is this necessary, or just another way to squeeze more money from citizens?
If you have thoughts on these price hikes, feel free to join the conversation – maybe your comment will spark change or at least a good laugh at these numbers!
Source: Blic, Feniks magazin, Blic Biznis Portal
