The Austrian Ministry of Finance recently dealt with an
interesting case of dividend payments made from an Austrian
corporation to the Austrian permanent establishment of a French
indirect shareholder.
Under the Austrian provisions implementing the EU
Parent/Subsidiary Directive (cf. sec. 94(2) of the
Austrian Income Tax Act [Einkommensteuergesetz]), outbound
dividends paid to non-resident shareholders are exempt from
withholding tax in Austria, if (i) the shareholder holds a stake of
at least 10% in the share capital of an Austrian corporation; and
(ii) if the participation has been held for an uninterrupted period
of at least one year. If the receiving company is resident in
Austria, no minimum holding period is required for the exemption
from withholding tax.
