Austria: Implementation of confirmation on tax reclaims and clarification on beneficial ownership

The Austrian Tax Authority (ATA) has informed Clearstream Banking¹ of the following changes to the procedure for reclaiming withholding tax on dividends, due to

1. the market agreement concerning “Stattgabe-Bescheide“ (confirmation of tax refund payment by the ATA); and
2. the letter “Information on Capital Yields Tax Refunds for Dividends Received by Taxpayers with Limited Tax Liability (Non-Resident Taxpayers)” which can be found on the ATA’s website and in English at the following link. 

Stattgabe-Bescheide

Since summer 2015, the ATA has been informing applicants about tax reclaim payments via the “Stattgabe-Bescheide“.

The detailed payment confirmation from ATA is forwarded to the applicant, or its representative (if any), when the mandate for postal deliveries is ticked under section 2 “Information on the claimant - Representative” on reclaim form ZS-RE1 (English version) / ZS-RD1 (German version).

Note: If customers do not enter Clearstream Banking as a representative and do not tick the mandate for postal deliveries, Clearstream Banking will not be informed about payment details and cannot monitor the settlement of the payments.

Beneficial ownership

In September 2014, the ATA answered open questions regarding the transfer of beneficial ownership in the event of disposals with cum/ex-aspects and clarified who is justified to reclaim tax on so called cum/ex transactions.

Applicants are entitled to reclaim tax when their positions were settled and booked on their account before the dividend entitlement date. Reclaims on compensated Market Claims will be rejected by the ATA.

Note: Tax on compensated Market Claims, so called cum/ex transactions, can be reclaimed by the buyer only against and via the settled position on dividend entitlement date of its counterparty (seller).

Further Information

For further information, customers may contact the Clearstream Banking Tax Help Desk, Clearstream Banking Client Services or their Relationship Officer.

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1. Previously, interest income derived by foreign investors was not subject to limited tax liability in Austria and exempt from Austrian withholding tax.
2. Clearstream Banking refers collectively to Clearstream Banking AG, registered office at 61, Mergenthalerallee, 65760 Eschborn, Germany and registered in Register B of the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Germany under number HRB 7500, and Clearstream Banking S.A., registered office at 42, avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, and registered with the Luxembourg Trade and Companies Register under number B-9248.