Austria MOF Clarifies Taxation of Bonus Payments to Employees Due to Coronavirus

The Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance July 18 posted online a decision clarifying the taxation of bonuses paid to employees due to the coronavirus pandemic. A company paid its employees a 1,000-euro (US$1,025) bonus in November 2020, and claimed a tax exemption on those bonus payments. The company received income tax and employer contribution liabilities for the 2020 bonus payments. The company argued that the bonus payments were related to the coronavirus pandemic, and were therefore tax-exempt. The court held that: 1) additional allowances and payments due to the coronavirus pandemic are tax free up to 3,000 euros (US$3,074), only ...