Finance Committee: Blümel for global model of a digital tax

May 26, 2021 Benn-Ibler Rechtsanwälte

In the context of the Finance Committee (Finanzausschuss), Finance Minister Blümel advocated a global solution for a digital tax during the debate on the EU's 2021 annual budget. Globally active corporations, especially in the digital sector, should pay their share for the sake of tax fairness. Foreign e-commerce companies have been able to strongly increase their turnover since the beginning of the pandemic. Thus, in 2020, about EUR 944.5 million in VAT was paid by all such companies registered in Austria. Of this, a full EUR 790 million was attributable to foreign e-commerce businesses. If such foreign e-commerce businesses have neither a registered office nor a permanent establishment in Austria, they do not have to pay any profit tax. This represents a competitive disadvantage for domestic retailers. Blümel therefore also supported the proposal for the introduction of a global minimum corporate income tax of 21%, which is still being negotiated at the OECD level.

However, the Finance Minister does not support the introduction of a financial transaction tax, as it is currently being discussed at EU level, partly because the proposed approach does not provide for a broad tax base.

Further points of the Finance Committee were various discussions on changes in tax law. For example, the SPÖ demanded, in the sense of the Council of Ministers' decision of 26 February 2020, the deductibility of expenses for working rooms located in the residential area, even in the case of partial professional use, as well as the extension of tax benefits for a Corona premium to 2021; these motions were postponed to the next session.

The NEOS pointed out the tax problems of cross-border commuters, specifically employees residing in Austria who work in Switzerland. The relevant double taxation agreement provides that the Swiss cantons withhold a withholding tax that is credited when calculating income tax in Austria. In the case of work from home days, however, this withholding tax is not recognised by the Austrian tax authorities, so the cross-border commuter must apply for a refund. A corresponding agreement is to be reached with Switzerland for this purpose. This was also postponed, but a positive outcome has already been indicated for the near future.

Finanzausschuss: Minister Blümel spricht sich für globales Modell in Sachen Digitalsteuer aus (PK-Nr. 559/2021) (parlament.gv.at)

Blümel fordert Gerechtigkeit für heimische Händler (bmf.gv.at)

1416/A(E) (XXVII. GP) - Steuerrechtliche Lösung für Grenzgänger im Home-Office (parlament.gv.at)

1434/A (XXVII. GP) - Einkommenssteuergesetz, Änderung (parlament.gv.at)