European Court of Justice (ECJ) on Thursday ruled that Austria’s practice of adjusting child benefits and some tax advantages depending on the child’s country of residence was discriminatory.
The ECJ in a statement said the practice “constitutes unjustified indirect discrimination based on the nationality of migrant workers.’’
Since January 2019, Austria has set amounts of child support and tax advantages for families of migrant workers based on the general price level of the European country where their children live.
The rule affects families in which the worker has moved to Austria, but dependents stay in the home country.
Children living in Eastern European countries hence receive less than those living in Austria. Children based in, for example, Norway or Denkmark receive more.
The child benefit reform was a flagship project of the coalition government of the conservative ÖVP and the right-wing FPÖ in power at the time.
“The great majority of migrant workers affected by that mechanism come from member states where the cost of living is lower than in Austria,’’ the ECJ wrote.
The complaint was brought forward to the court by the European Commission and backed by Czech Republic, Croatia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia.
Denmark and Norway have intervened in support of Austria,’’ the ECJ wrote.
The Austrian government “must comply with the court’s judgment without delay”, the ECJ added, as rulings by the European Union’s highest court are binding for the bloc’s members. (NAN)
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