Salzburg Finance Scandal

 

 

 

Salzburg is Threatened by Many Unpleasant Surprises, 19 Feb. 2013

by Andreas Schnauder

The perspective of the SPÖ is quickly told. Unauthorised, a division head speculates with tax money, no one knows about it. But thanks to the swift response, Salzburg gets off easy after the incident becomes public. Instead of running a deficit, the province bows out of the speculation deals with a small surplus.

However, this version rests on unsound footing even before the Public Inquiry started. This confirms the suspicion that high deficits had been covered up. In part, evidence is presented by the PwC’s survey, of which only excerpts had been presented in mid-January. According to [David] Brenner’s preliminary report, it was "unknown to [Salzburg’s] government and parliament," that a staggering of €1.7 billion of non-operating debts have been made.