Fiscal Council

The Fiscal Council is an Austrian body that is supposed to support politicians in setting financial policy measures by analyzing the capital markets and the development of financial debt. The term of office of the members is six years. The Fiscal Council emerged from the former National Debt Committee on November 1, 2013 and is the independent body required by Regulation (EU) No. 473/2013 to monitor compliance with budget rules . The National Debt Committee was originally a sub-committee of the Administrative Board of the Austrian Postal Savings Bank and only became an independent institution with the transformation of the Postsparkasse into a stock corporation (May 4, 1997).

tasks

The individual tasks consist of:

forecast a development in public finances
analyze public budgets
Making recommendations to politicians taking into account economic developments, and
in information events of the Treasury to participate

The Fiscal Council, for example, regularly points out the trend towards increasing foreign debt in the Austrian budget since the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) was established.

Members

Members of the Fiscal Council are financial experts and are posted by the respective institutions in accordance with Section 1 (2) of the Federal Act on the Establishment of the Fiscal Council:

six members from the federal government

three members together from the Austrian Chamber of Commerce and the President's Conference of the Chambers of Agriculture

three members of the Federal Chamber of Labor

One non-voting member each of the Austrian Association of Municipalities , the Austrian Association of Cities and the Governors' Conference .

In addition, there are advisory members such as those from the Oesterreichische Nationalbank .

Presidents of the Fiscal Council and the National Debt Committee were or are:

1978–2006: Helmut Frisch
2006–2018: Bernhard Felderer
2018–2020: Gottfried Haber
from 2020: Martin Kocher

After Haber's resignation in February 2020, the position of President remained vacant for the time being, and the Ministry of Finance announced a swift decision on his successor. Martin Kocher was appointed President of the Fiscal Council in June 2020 .

literature

Gerhard Lehner: The National Debt Committee and its recommendations in the nineties. In: Economics in theory and practice. Festschrift for Helmut Frisch (Ed. Günther Chaloupek). Vienna 2002, p. 199 ff.

Web links

Website of the Fiscal Council
Legal information system Federal Chancellery: Federal law on the establishment of the Fiscal Council

Individual evidence

↑ Fiscal Council - Tasks - Federal Act on the Establishment of the Fiscal Council in accordance with Federal Law Gazette I No. 149/2013 . Retrieved February 7, 2015.
^ ORF, July 5, 2013: National Debt Committee becomes Fiscal Council .
↑ Explanations of the government bill on a federal law amending the federal law on the establishment of the National Debt Committee , accessed on February 26, 2017
↑ Federal Law Gazette I No. 58/1997
↑ Explanations of the motion of the MPs Dr. Ewald Nowotny, Dkfm. Dr. Günter Stummvoll and comrades regarding a federal law on the incorporation of the Austrian Post Office Savings Bank into a stock corporation, the amendment to the Post Savings Bank Act 1969, the Banking Act and the establishment of the National Debt Committee , accessed on February 26, 2017.
↑ Austrian State Debt Committee: Annual Report 2008 (PDF), p. 42: "[...] the share of foreign debt increased from 48% (end of 1999) to almost 82% at the end of 2008."
↑ National Debt Committee Austria: Annual Report 2012 (PDF), p. 53: "In 2012 the share of foreign debt fell slightly for the fourth time in a row and reached 73.6% at the end of 2012 (end of 2011: 73.8%; end of 2010: 74.5%; end of 2009: 76.0%). "
^ Fiscal Council - Members .
↑ Felderer retreat: The quiet farewell to a haunting admonisher . Article dated September 29, 2018, accessed September 29, 2018.
^ Fiscal Council - Members .
^ Blümel: Martin Kocher becomes President of the Fiscal Council. June 24, 2020, accessed June 24, 2020 .
^ Fiscal Council President Haber resigned. In: derStandard.at . February 21, 2020, accessed March 11, 2020.
^ IHS boss Martin Kocher becomes President of the Fiscal Council. In: DerStandard.at . June 24, 2020, accessed June 24, 2020 .

[1] Fiscal Council - Tasks - Federal Act on the Establishment of the Fiscal Council in accordance with Federal Law Gazette I No. 149/2013 . Retrieved February 7, 2015.

[2] ORF, July 5, 2013: National Debt Committee becomes Fiscal Council .

[3] Explanations of the government bill on a federal law amending the federal law on the establishment of the National Debt Committee , accessed on February 26, 2017

[4] Federal Law Gazette I No. 58/1997

[5] Explanations of the motion of the MPs Dr. Ewald Nowotny, Dkfm. Dr. Günter Stummvoll and comrades regarding a federal law on the incorporation of the Austrian Post Office Savings Bank into a stock corporation, the amendment to the Post Savings Bank Act 1969, the Banking Act and the establishment of the National Debt Committee , accessed on February 26, 2017.

[6] Austrian State Debt Committee: Annual Report 2008 (PDF), p. 42: "[...] the share of foreign debt increased from 48% (end of 1999) to almost 82% at the end of 2008."

[7] National Debt Committee Austria: Annual Report 2012 (PDF), p. 53: "In 2012 the share of foreign debt fell slightly for the fourth time in a row and reached 73.6% at the end of 2012 (end of 2011: 73.8%; end of 2010: 74.5%; end of 2009: 76.0%). "

[8] Fiscal Council - Members .

[9] Felderer retreat: The quiet farewell to a haunting admonisher . Article dated September 29, 2018, accessed September 29, 2018.

[10] Fiscal Council - Members .

[OTS_20200624_OTS0046-11] Blümel: Martin Kocher becomes President of the Fiscal Council. June 24, 2020, accessed June 24, 2020 .

[12] Fiscal Council President Haber resigned. In: derStandard.at . February 21, 2020, accessed March 11, 2020.

[derstandard2000118278393-13] IHS boss Martin Kocher becomes President of the Fiscal Council. In: DerStandard.at . June 24, 2020, accessed June 24, 2020 .