Investment in Austria

By Niklas Schmidt e Eva Stadler | Wolf Theiss

Austria, one of the wealthiest countries in the world and an EU Member State, continues to attract investors owing to its stable political and social situation and its geographical position in the center of Europe.

Apart from proximity, historical ties to the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have made Austria a very attractive location for multinationals from Brazil and elsewhere to choose as their base of operations regarding CEE.

Austria has become a very attractive place for Brazilian multinationals to set up their operations

Commom forms of business organization

• Corporate

The most commonly used form of Austrian business organization for inbound investments is the limited liability company (GmbH). Owing to its less burdensome corporate governance requirements, it is generally preferred by investors to the more complex stock corporation (AG), a corporate form that has to be used if a listing on a stock exchange is being considered.

Both entities are subject to Austrian corporate income tax on their income. Shareholders are taxed separately on dividends received from these corporations.