The Ministry of Finance (german: Bundesministerium für Finanzen) is the government ministry of

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

responsible for the collection of

taxes A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, o ...

and customs as well as the administration of

fiscal Fiscal usually refers to government finance. In this context, it may refer to: Economics * Fiscal policy, use of government expenditure to influence economic development * Fiscal policy debate * Fiscal adjustment, a reduction in the government ...

and economic policy. It oversees the Revenue Service, the Revenue Service for Large Businesses, the Financial Police, and various other agencies. It is headquartered in the

Winter Palace of Prince Eugene The Winter Palace of Prince Eugene (german: Winterpalais Prinz Eugen), also known as the City Palace (german: Stadtpalais), is a high- Baroque palace in the Innere Stadt district of Vienna, Austria. Located on a narrow street at Himmelpfortgasse ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

. The current Minister is Magnus Brunner.

Structure and function

The Ministry is responsible for revenue administration at the federal level, including the government budget, matters of finance concerning the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

tax A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

es,

duties A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...

and

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and pol ...

s. It defines and conducts the country's

budgetary policy Budgetary policy refers to government attempts to run a budget in equity or in surplus. The aim is to reduce the public debt. It is not the same as a fiscal policy In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government ...

concerning

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...

credit Credit (from Latin verb ''credit'', meaning "one believes") is the trust which allows one party to provide money or resources to another party wherein the second party does not reimburse the first party immediately (thereby generating a debt) ...

savings bank A savings bank is a financial institution whose primary purpose is accepting savings deposits and paying interest on those deposits. They originated in Europe during the 18th century with the aim of providing access to savings products to al ...

s ( Sparkassen) and

exchange Exchange may refer to: Physics *Gas exchange is the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration. Places United States * Exchange, Indiana, an unincorporated community * ...

matters, capital movements and

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

insurance Insurance is a means of protection from financial loss in which, in exchange for a fee, a party agrees to compensate another party in the event of a certain loss, damage, or injury. It is a form of risk management, primarily used to hedge ...

control and

hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term '' hallmark'' can a ...

s. It is also concerned with economic policy, if not discharged by the Ministry of Economy. The Finance Minister and the General Secretary chair six departments (''Sektionen''): *Dept. I: Office of the Minister *Dept. II: Federal budget *Dept. III: Economic policy and

financial market A financial market is a market in which people trade financial securities and derivatives at low transaction costs. Some of the securities include stocks and bonds, raw materials and precious metals, which are known in the financial market ...

s *Dept. IV: Taxes and tariffs *Dept. V:

Information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of Data (computing), data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information te ...

*Dept. VI:

Fiscal policy In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection (taxes or tax cuts) and expenditure to influence a country's economy. The use of government revenue expenditures to influence macroeconomic variab ...

and

tax law Tax law or revenue law is an area of legal study in which public or sanctioned authorities, such as federal, state and municipal governments (as in the case of the US) use a body of rules and procedures (laws) to assess and collect taxes in a ...

History

A first ''Hofkammer'' (court chamber) stewardship for the

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

lands was established in Vienna by Archduke Ferdinand I, in order to balance the deficient Habsburg budget. Re-established by Maria Theresa in 1760, the chamber became the '' k.k.'' Finance Ministry of the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence ...

upon the

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

and took its seat at the former city palace of Prince Eugene. After the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, the Austrian Finance Minister was only responsible for the Cisleithanian crown lands, while for the common financial policy of the

real union Real union is a union of two or more states, which share some state institutions in contrast to personal unions; however, they are not as unified as states in a political union. It is a development from personal union and has historically be ...

, a separate Austro-Hungarian ''k.u.k.'' Finance Ministry was established. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, the First Austrian Republic implemented a ''Staatsamt für Finanzen'', which was renamed upon the adoption of the

Austrian Constitution The Constitution of Austria (german: Österreichische Bundesverfassung) is the body of all constitutional law of the Republic of Austria on the federal level. It is split up over many different acts. Its centerpiece is the Federal Constitutional ...

(B-VG) in 1920.

List of Ministers

External links

Official website
{{authority control 1848 establishments in the Austrian Empire Austria, Finance

Finance Lists of government ministers of Austria

Structure and function

History

List of Ministers

See also

External links