Austria: Tax exemption for EU/EEA pension funds and legal entities

Further to our Announcement A11036, dated 24 March 2011, and effective:

immediately

customers are reminded that the Austrian Ministry of Finance has decided to refund withholding tax that was levied on dividends paid to certain European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) pension funds and legal entities.

Impact on customers

As defined in §§6 and 21 of the Austrian Corporate Income Tax Act (ACITA), foreign pension funds and legal entities are entitled to a full tax refund provided that they have the same status as comparable Austrian entities.

For EU/EEA pension funds:

According to ACITA §6, customers can submit the following refund documentation:

• Reclaim form ZS-RE1and ZS-RE1A, in which it is stated that the reclaim is in accordance with ACITA §6. Customers can certify their residence directly on the form.
  
• Dividend payment advice.
  
• Approval of registration of the pension fund, according to EU-Directive 2003/41/EC, issued by the authorised supervising authority in the country of residence of the pension fund. Customers must provide this for each business year.
  
• Copy of the articles of incorporation of the pension fund, confirming that the pensions granted by the pension fund do not exceed 80% of the beneficiary’s last salary.

For EU/EEA legal entities:

According to ACITA §21, customers can submit the following refund documentation:

• Reclaim form ZS-RE1and ZS-RE1A, in which it is stated that the reclaim is in accordance with ACITA §21. Customers can certify their residence directly on the form.
  
• Dividend payment advice.
  
• Confirmation from the local tax authorities that, because of local legislation, the beneficial owner was unable to credit the Austrian tax in their country of residence. The confirmation must show the beneficial owner’s tax ID and be issued separately for each business year.

The statute of limitations for reclaims is five years. We advise customers to submit reclaims as soon as possible for dividends paid on or after 1 January 2007.

Note: The Austrian Tax Authorities may ask for authenticated translations of required documents that were submitted in languages other than German or English and may request confirmation of tax reclaims based on Double Taxation Treaties (DTTs).

Further information

For further information, please contact the Clearstream Banking¹ Tax Help Desk on:

or Clearstream Banking Customer Service or your Relationship Officer.

1. Clearstream Banking refers collectively to Clearstream Banking AG, registered office at 61, Mergenthalerallee, 65760 Eschborn, Germany and registered in the Register B of the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Germany under number HRB 7500 (CBF) and Clearstream Banking, société anonyme, registered office at 42, avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, and registered with the Luxembourg Register of Commerce and Companies under number B-9248 (CBL).