tax law news
Get an overview of our tax law news.
Read through our tax law team's articles, publications and news:
newsletter
Austria: Draft Grace-Period-Act facilitates SME succession within the family
In April 2024, the Austrian government presented a draft of the Grace-Period-Act aimed at assisting family businesses and SMEs in the event of a business transfer within the family.
roadmap
Private foundations in Austria: Suggestions from a tax perspective after 30 years of discontinuity
A historic review of the special taxation regime of private foundations outlines an exciting development and illustrates the reduction of tax advantages for private foundations over the last three decades. Although private foundations still have certain tax advantages over other corporations or the taxation of individuals, the discontinuity in their taxation does little to reassure those who have relied on private foundations as a legal entity. This article outlines this discontinuity while also suggesting potential tax incentives with a view to future law.
roadmap
(Re-)introducing wealth taxes in Austria: practical challenges
The reintroduction of (additional) wealth taxes is a hot topic in Austria. It comes with major practical challenges, not only for advisors but especially for tax authorities and the Austrian legislator.
roadmap
Doing business in Romania: market entry challenges
Romania still offers many opportunities for investors looking to enter the European market or to develop their operations in the region. The country's shifting corporate and tax laws do not seem to have deterred investors and it continues to attract plenty of foreign direct investment each year.
newsletter
Romania introduces massive tax changes
Unable to keep its budget deficit under control, Romania announced a comprehensive package of tax measures earlier this year aimed at ensuring the country's long-term financial sustainability. These much-debated changes, which have polarised public opinion and were subject to claims of unconstitutionality, were eventually passed in October.
publication
KESt-Zuflussfiktion bei einer verdeckten Gewinnausschüttung an den beherrschenden GmbH-Gesellschafter-Geschäftsführer durch bloße Fälligkeit oder Buchung?
newsletter
Romania: Deadlock in sale of Romanian farmland outside buildable areas finally cleared
A two-and-a-half-year deadlock impeding the sale of Romanian farmland located outside buildable areas and acquired less than eight years ago seems to have been finally cleared. On 2 February 2023 a much-awaited normative act came into effect, filling a series of legislative gaps and allowing public notaries to authenticate sale agreements for certain types of farmland located outside buildable areas.
roadmap
Photovoltaics: the green energy source. Austrian tax aspects to consider when implementing photovoltaic systems
publication
Gequälte Suche nach der fremdüblichen Miethöhe bei Luxusimmobilien - Korrespondierende gesellschaftsrechtliche Rückforderungsverpflichtung? (Teil I)
newsletter
Hungary: The jury is still out – is it lawful to incorporate taxes into flight tickets?
Hungary's parliament passed a package of anti-corruption laws on 3 October 2022 as part of the commitments made by the government to the European Commission ("EC").
media coverage
Nachfolge mit Stolpersteinen: Was Unternehmen bei der Erbfolge beachten sollten
Beim Generationenwechsel in Familienunternehmen können gewünschte gesellschaftsrechtliche Lösungen mit dem Erbrecht in Konflikt geraten
publication
Rechtsfähigkeit und Typenvergleich von in Österreich ansässigen UK-Ltd nach dem Brexit - gesellschaftsrechtsautonome Auslegung des § 1 Abs 2 KStG?
newsletter
New special taxes in Hungary to improve the state's income
On 4 June 2022 the Hungarian government issued a decree introducing special taxes affecting several sectors, among others banking, insurance, energy, telecommunications and airlines.
newsletter
Romania: Happy New Year, Happy New Tax Rules!
Romanian taxpayers had an exciting start to the year with the Government introducing changes to the country's main tax laws – the Fiscal Code and the Tax Procedural Code. These amendments, which follow others announced at the end of last year, were introduced in accelerated fashion, having been debated for only a few days prior to adoption.
roadmap
Does a new era of crypto tax transparency lie ahead?
For those who have been paying little attention to the taxation of their crypto assets, things are about to get heated.
roadmap
Multilateral Convention: a gamechanger for corporate taxation
In 2021, representatives of 136 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries agreed on a major reform concerning the current rules of international corporate taxation.
roadmap
Austria's corporate tax regime goes green
In November 2021 the Austrian government outlined its draft for an eco-social tax reform, which intends to combine substantial tax relief through various (tax rate) measures as well as a significant increase of the tax burden for unsustainable, polluting behaviour by private households and companies.
media coverage
Steuertipps: Was bis Jahresende noch getan werden kann
Die letzten Wochen des Kalenderjahres bieten Steuerpflichtigen letzte Möglichkeiten, um Steuern zu sparen. Dank der Steuerreform 2022 zahlt es sich in manchen Fällen aus, Einnahmen ins kommende Jahr zu verschieben
publication
BFG zu Cum-/Ex-Geschäften: KESt-Rückerstattung auf Dividenden bzw Kompensationszahlungen
publication
Anwendungsbereich und Reichweite der Kapitalmaßnahmen-VO mit Fokus auf Wandeldarlehen
press release
15 June 2021
austria vienna
R.Perner M.Marschall S.Aichhorn-Wöss G.Ebner M.Pressler M.Thorbauer T.Hayden
Austria: Schoenherr advises Credendo on the cross-border merger of their Austrian stock company into a Belgian group company
roadmap
Restructuring tools for companies in economic crisis
Austrian tax law provides various reorganisation tools for companies in an economic crisis. Among others, these include shareholder contribution (in the broad sense), debt/equity swap, debt waiver, assumption of debt, letter of comfort, participation right, capital decrease, surety/guarantee, assumption of performance, silent partnership, debt mezzanine swap and restructuring trust.
newsletter
Romania: Amendments to fiscal legislation impacting employment relations
A series of fiscal measures were introduced in the Fiscal Code by Law No. 239/2020, amending and supplementing Law No. 227/2015 on the Fiscal Code.
publication
Umsatzsteuerliche Auswirkungen des Brexits
Nach zähen Verhandlungen und einigen Verlängerungen hat Großbritannien (GB) mit 31.1.2020 die EU verlassen.
publication
Die Unterbeteiligung an Kapitalanteilen im Gesellschafts- und Steuerrecht
Im österr Recht besteht eine Vielzahl von Beteiligungsmöglichkeiten, die unterschiedlichst ausgestaltet werden können und die verschiedenste gesellschafts- und steuerrechtliche Folgen haben.
newsletter
Sanierungsinstrumente in der Krise
Gerade in aktuellen Krisenzeiten stellt sich für viele Unternehmer die Frage, wie sie ihr Unternehmen bestmöglich sanieren können, um so das Fortbestehen des Unternehmens zu sichern.
publication
Wer kann bei Bilanzfälschung durch Vorstandsmitglieder zur Verantwortung gezogen werden?
newsletter
Romania: Are Romanian companies ready for post-pandemic tax audits?
As part of the preventive measures taken to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Romanian tax authorities have limited the number of tax audits at taxpayers' premises for the duration of the state of emergency.
publication
Einschränkungen der Hebung stiller Lasten in Rückstellungen (Teil 2)
Anders als der deutsche Gesetzgeber dürfte der österreichische Gesetzgeber die Möglichkeit der Hebung stiller Lasten in Rückstellungen vorausgesehen haben, weil sich für Sozialrückstellungen in § 14 EStG bereits spezifische Beschränkungen hierfür finden.
publication
Die Hebung stiller Lasten in Rückstellungen (Teil 1)
Stille Lasten in Rückstellungen entstehen durch spezifische Ansatzverbote, Ansatzbeschränkungen oder Bewertungsvorbehalte im Bilanz- und Steuerrecht, die - entgegen dem Imparitätsprinzip - zu einer eingeschränkten Aufwandsdarstellung in der abgelaufenen Wirtschaftsperiode führen.
roadmap
cee overview - tax
An overview of tax innovations for Austria, Romania and neighbouring countries
Significant tax innovations came into force in 2019 in the Austrian legal market.
roadmap
Austria's implementation of the DAC 6-directive: The EU Reporting Act
Following the approval on 25 May 2018 of the European DAC 6-directive, which obligates taxpayers and tax intermediaries to report certain aggressive cross-border arrangements to the tax authorities, the Austrian parliament approved the EU Reporting Act (EU-Meldepflichtgesetz) on 20 September 2019, which implements the aforementioned directive into Austrian domestic law. This publication will highlight the most important takeaways and developments of this new act in comparison to the directive, which was already discussed in Roadmap 2018.
roadmap
Throwback: Implementation of CFC rules in Austria
One of the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD) measures involves the reallocation of income of Controlled Foreign Companies (CFC) in low-tax jurisdictions to the parent company. The new Austrian CFC rules came into force on 1 January 2019. On 25 January 2019, the Austrian government published a Regulation on the application of these CFC rules. This article provides a practical overview of the Austrian CFC rules.
publication
to the point: Tax News Österreich | Q3 2019
In unserem "to the point: Tax News Österreich" beleuchten unsere Tax-Experten für Sie jedes Quartal die aktuellen Änderungen im Steuerrecht, die aktuelle steuerrechtliche Judikatur sowie Auffassungen der Finanzverwaltung / des Schrifttums.
publication
to the point: Tax News Österreich | Q2 2019
In unserem "to the point: Tax News Österreich" beleuchten unsere Tax-Experten für Sie jedes Quartal die aktuellen Änderungen im Steuerrecht, die aktuelle steuerrechtliche Judikatur sowie Auffassungen der Finanzverwaltung / des Schrifttums.
newsletter
Are you ready for the tax and employment authorities' dawn raids? - Romania
A wave of dawn raids from mixed teams of the Romanian tax and employment authorities (ANAF and ITM) is expected this August. As per public declarations, these measures target tax evasion and "black market" labour.
media coverage
Salarii mai mari si taxe mai mici din 21 iulie 2019. Ce trebuie sa stii daca activezi in domeniul construcțiilor
roadmap
Implementation of the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD; EU 2016/1164) into Austrian and Romanian Law
roadmap
Tax intermediaries to disclose potentially aggressive tax arrangements to tax authorities
On 25 May 2018, the Council adopted a directive forcing tax intermediaries or taxpayers to report aggressive cross-border tax planning schemes to the tax authorities, which may exchange such information with other tax authorities within the EU. The Directive is to be implemented by 31 December 2019 and is applicable from 1 January 2020.
newsletter
05 April 2018
bulgaria croatia czech republic hungary poland slovenia slovakia romania belgium / EU austria
European Union: VAT Regime 2.0 - Will the Empire Strike Back?
The European Commission proposed fundamental changes to the current Value Added Tax (VAT) regime, aimed at delivering a definite pan-European VAT system in order to tackle tax fraud as well as to unify and simplify VAT requirements for companies while lessening red tape.
newsletter
Individual Tax Rulings Now Possible in Moldova – And They're Binding!
What previously was impossible and not foreseen by local legislation is now possible. Starting 1 January 2017, the Tax Code of Moldova (the "Tax Code") was amended by Law 281/2016 to include a separate norm (Art. 136¹) on individual tax rulings ("ITR") for the benefit of entrepreneurs. Within the limits of its scope and in respect of a concrete beneficiary, an issued ITR is binding on the State Tax Service (the "STS"). The Government and the Ministry of Finance are expected to approve the secondary legislation to regulate the details of the procedure.
roadmap
Austria: The New Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive and its Effects on Austrian Taxation
As part of the EU Commission’s Anti-Tax Avoidance Package, the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive establishes new rules against tax avoidance practices in Europe.
roadmap
The ECJ Power Punch to Hungarian VAT Practice
Hungarian taxpayers had faced uncertainty since 2003, when Hungary introduced the principle of “due foresight” into its VAT regime. This principle had been the main weapon of the Hungarian tax authority (NAV) against taxpayers trying to abuse VAT deduction rights. The NAV also abused this weapon, but has now been disarmed.