Financial Police Uncover Numerous Violations In Styrian And Carinthian Ski Areas

The financial police in the anti-fraud office discovered significant violations during four key operations in February and March in Styrian and Carinthian ski areas. A total of 211 reports were filed and around 75,000 euros in tax debts were collected. The violations were primarily found in hotels and restaurants, but also in ski schools.

“The financial police are fighting vigorously against illegal employment, tax fraud and tax evasion. Regular, focused inspections such as these are crucial to ensure fair competitive conditions, protect employees and ensure compliance with legal provisions. Of course, these controls benefit all taxpayers, but also the reputation of our business location and especially the companies that operate correctly,” emphasizes Finance Minister Magnus Brunner.

A total of 76 financial police officers took part in the key operations and were deployed in the ski areas of Turracherhöhe, Katschberg, Klipitzthörl in Carinthia and Reiteralm as well as Lachtal in Styria. As it turned out, almost every second of the 216 companies inspected were not law-abiding: 103 reports were filed for illegal employment, ten criminal charges were filed for illegal employment of foreigners and two more were for fraud in connection with receiving unemployment benefits.

There were violations of the Working Hours Act in 42 cases, and reports were filed under the Wage and Social Dumping Act twelve times. In a further 42 cases, the financial police reported to the financial criminal authorities because there were serious violations of the cash register requirement. In some companies the cash register systems were tampered with, while others didn't even have a cash register. In addition, a total of 74,936 euros in tax debts were collected. All affected companies must now expect high fines.