Guest author Dr Gerald Toifl
There are four key reasons why Austria may be advantageous in
international tax planning over other jurisdictions.
Compared to other jurisdictions, Austria may be advantageous in
international tax planning for the following four reasons.
- Holding company location
- Use of Austrian private foundation
- Investment structures
- Timing and classification differences.
Austrian holding companies fall under the normal Austrian tax
system (tax rate of 25%) but dividends and capital gains are in
general exempt under the participation exemption. However, the lack
of special provisions for holding companies sets Austria apart from
tax havens.
In 1992, Austria set up a law on Private Foundations. Such
Private Foundations can be used for each purpose, ie. not only for
charitable purposes, and therefore especially for tax and
succession planning.
