Austrian Tax Amendment Act 2022 – government bill published

The government bill for the Austrian Tax Amendment Act 2022 (AbgÄG 2022) was published in mid-June. Confirmation of the final version is expected before the summer recess. The AbgÄG 2022 contains numerous minor adjustments and changes related to income taxation, VAT, and procedural law. Tax changes relating to the previously announced inflation package, particularly the abolition of […]

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Changes concerning withholding tax for Software-as-a-Service and Infrastructure-as-a-Service

Under many Austrian double tax treaties, the remuneration for “industrial, commercial or scientific equipment” is treated as royalties subject to withholding tax (WHT). In a change from the previous interpretation, the Austrian Ministry of Finance has now stated that intangible assets (e.g. software) do not fall under the category of “equipment”. This has significant implications […]

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Quota system: New extension of deadline for tax returns for 2020

As previously reported in our Tax Newsletter of 16 March 2022, the grace period for the submission of tax returns for 2020 for taxpayers with tax representatives was initially extended by three months (from 31 March 2022) to 30 June 2022. The Austrian Ministry of Finance (BMF) has now extended this period by a further three months […]

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New extension of deadline for shareholder meetings and financial statements

On 19 May 2022, the Austrian Parliament resolved to again extend the deadlines for the preparation, adoption, and disclosure of financial statements, as well as for the holding of annual general meetings. We provide an overview of the current changes below: Preparation and disclosure of financial statements Hitherto, the following rule applied: If the preparation […]

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Changes for airbnb, willhaben and other platforms: publication of consultation draft of the Austrian Digital Platform Reporting Requirement Act (DPMG), also known as “DAC 7”

The EU’s DAC 7 Directive, which was published at the start of 2021, envisages an annual reporting requirement for digital platforms, whether they are resident within or outside the EU, as well as provisions on the automatic exchange of information (see Newsletter of 11 August 2021). The goal is to use automatic exchange of information to create […]

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Ordinance on the transfer of interest and EBITDA carryforwards during reorganisations published

An ordinance published on 2 June 2022 (“Zinsvortrags-ÜbergangsV”) provides the legal framework for the transfer of interest and EBITDA carryforwards to the receiving entity in the context of corporate reorganisations. Austrian interest limitation rule in a nutshell According to the Austrian interest limitation rule the deductibility of net interest expense for corporations is limited to 30% […]

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Input VAT deduction on expenses from company outings

Due to the amendment of Section 23 Austrian VAT Act (UStG), the tolerance limit for input VAT deduction for travel-related input supplies for company outings (away days) has ceased to apply. Company outings fall under the scope of Sec 23 UStG and are thus attributable to travel-related supplies from a VAT perspective. Travel-related supplies are generally subject […]

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Austrian Tax Court declares horizontal group to be permissible

In a decision of 31 March 2022 (RV/7104573/2020), the Austrian Federal Tax Court (BFG) has stated – contrary to the wording of Sec 9 Austrian Corporate Income Tax Act (KStG) – that a company group between Austrian affiliates is permissible even if the joint parent company is resident abroad and does not have a branch in Austria. […]

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Remote working simplifications with Germany due to COVID-19 set to expire

The Austrian Consultation Agreement with Germany contains special rules concerning the application of the double taxation treaty, which were introduced due to the pandemic. Accordingly, employers that are resident in Germany would not be deemed to have created a permanent establishment (“PE”) in Austria if an employee who is resident in Austria works from a […]

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Non-deductibility of severance payments from social plans is unconstitutional

In its decision of 16 March 2022, the Austrian Constitutional Court (VfGH) overturned the prohibition of deductions under Sec 20 para 1 subpara 8 Austrian Income Tax Act (EStG) as unconstitutional. This provision prevents the deduction of voluntary severance payments made by the employer to the extent that these exceed the amounts eligible for preferential tax treatment on the […]

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