More affiliates in tax havens | DiePress.com

According to the analysis, ATX companies have 286 subsidiaries in low-tax countries.

Vienna. Not only are multinational IT giants like Google or Amazon accused of moving activities to tax havens. According to an analysis by the liberal social institute Momentum, the number of subsidiaries in low-tax countries also increased significantly in the case of companies listed on Vienna ATX.

While ATX companies still had 176 subsidiaries in tax havens in 2020, the number was 286 in 2021, according to the analysis. The Momentum Institute Vienna evaluated annual reports from 17 of the 20 companies listed on ATX. Among the companies with subsidiaries in tax havens, the institute includes, for example, state-owned OMV, Graz-based plant manufacturer Andritz, and Telekom Austria.

different definitions

For the calculation, the Corporate Tax Haven Index (CTHI) of the Tax Justice Network of International NGOs was taken into account. According to another definition of a tax haven, the NGO Oxfam, the number of ATX affiliates located there was “only” 193 in 2020. She said the list of those countries classified as tax havens is much longer in CTHI. .

“Tax depositories are located not only in the Caribbean, but also in Europe. The chief economist of the Momentum Institute, Oliver Pesek, said, “The damage to the public due to the transfer of profits into tax quagmire is estimated at more than 700 million euros for Austria. Accordingly, ATX companies owned 136 subsidiaries in countries with a tax rate of less than ten percent in the previous year. If you include countries with a tax rate of 15 percent, the number will be almost double that.

The analyzed annual reports also indicate that in 2020, 12 of the 17 companies analyzed had to cut jobs. A total of 950 jobs have been eliminated. According to the analysis, the dividends for shareholders of ATX companies in 2020 and 2021 will be about 4.2 billion euros. (APA)

(“Die Presse,” print edition, June 5, 2021)