DR. FRIEDRICH SCHWANK

On 2nd May 2025, the draft bill for the Budget Accompanying Act 2025 was published in Austria. It provides for a significant tightening of the Austrian real estate transfer tax for share deals.   Currently, Austrian real estate transfer tax is triggered by the merger or transfer of at least 95% of the shares in land-owning companies. In future, this threshold will be reduced to 75%. This means that the acquisition or merger of 75% of the shares already triggers real estate

In order to acquire property in Austria, the title of ownership has to be registered in the Austrian Land Registry. The court fee for the registration of ownership title is 1.1% of the purchase price of the property and 1.2% of the loan sum for registration of a morgage. On 20th March 2024, the National Council approved a temporary - two-year - exemption from payment of the fees for the registration of ownership title and morgages in the Austrian Land Registry

All companies use general terms and conditions (‘GTC’) in their contracts, which are usually pre-formulated by them and are intended for a large number of contracts.   This typically creates an imbalance between the company and its business partners. This is why Austrian law requires GTC clauses to meet certain criteria in order to be valid:   GTC only apply by virtue of the parties' agreement (express or implied).

Whether a child acquires Austrian citizenship does not depend on the place of birth (in Austria or abroad). The principle of descent applies to Austrian citizenship – this means that it depends on descent from at least one Austrian parent. The decisive point in time for the acquisition of Austrian citizenship is the citizenship law applicable at the time of birth. Different regulations apply to the acquisition of Austrian citizenship.

The Austrian Register of Beneficial Owners (‘WiEReG’) contains data on the beneficial owners of companies, foundations and trusts for the...

The currently prevailing international tax system does not adequately take current developments, especially in the digital economy, into...

A very popular question arises: Are business donations deductible?   Donations from business assets are deductible as business expenses...

The double taxation agreement (DTA) between Austria and Serbia has been applicable since 2011. The DTA applies to natural and legal...

As part of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM for short), from 2026 there will be a pricing of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG...