Austria Lower House Considers Bill to Amend VAT Act

The Austrian lower house of parliament (Nationalrat) April 22 accepted for consideration Bill No. 474 dB, to amend the Value Added Tax Act 1994. The bill includes measures to: 1) introduce a new 4.9 percent reduced VAT rate for the supply and import of specified essential food products, including milk, yogurt, butter, eggs, vegetables, fruit, rice, flour, pasta, bread, and table salt; and 2) adjust existing provisions regarding the 10 percent and 13 percent reduced VAT rates to reflect the introduction of the new rate. The law would enter into force July 1 and apply to transactions carried out after ...