Austrian Federal Economic Chamber President Harald Mahrer is calling for a complete tax and contribution exemption on tips. “What guests voluntarily give waiters for good service must no longer be collected by the tax office,” his office said in a Saturday press release. Tips, he argued, are a sign of appreciation and not income, and this is especially true in gastronomy and hospitality where staff often deliver top performance under enormous pressure.

Currently tips are generally subject to social security contributions. In many cases a flat‑rate exemption applies but it varies by industry and federal state. In Vienna, for example, waitstaff benefit from a monthly allowance of around €60; anything above that is fully liable for contributions. While tips were once hard to verify, the rise of card payments means recorded tips now appear in cash‑register data. Recent reports of retroactive social‑security demands by the Austrian Public Health Insurance (ÖGK) have caused alarm. The government’s programme pledges to evaluate and standardise the differing rules across federal states.

The Chamber supports its call with a commissioned Market survey of 1,000 Austrians (11–14 April, ±3.15 % margin of error). According to the survey, 88 % support tax‑free tips and 87 % oppose businesses paying taxes on tips. Half of those surveyed said they would tip less if tips were taxed.

The Freedom Party (FPÖ) dismissed Mahrer’s proposal as a “nasty ÖVP trick”. FPÖ tourism spokesperson Christoph Steiner noted that tip‑tax exemption is not mentioned at all in the government programme that Mahrer helped negotiate.