Vorarlberger Landes- und Hypothekenbank Aktiengesellschaft
Vorarlberger Landes- und Hypothekenbank Aktiengesellschaft
Vorarlberger Landes- und Hypothekenbank Aktiengesellschaft
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153<br />
Insofar as the Notes have not been publicly offered or interest payments in respect to the Notes are made<br />
to a corporate investor that holds the Notes as a business asset, the withholding tax is not final, but<br />
credited against the tax liability of the respective year.<br />
Such corporate investors may generally avoid withholding tax on investment income by way of a particular<br />
notification procedure.<br />
Any interest payments in respect of Notes to Austrian private-law fo<strong>und</strong>ations ("Privatstiftung") are subject<br />
to a special interim corporate income tax at a rate of 12.5%. Such interim corporate income tax may be<br />
credited against the income tax levied on distributions made by the private-law fo<strong>und</strong>ation to its<br />
beneficiaries.<br />
Regarding the implications of the EU Savings Tax Directive in the Republic of Austria see further below.<br />
b. Capital gains<br />
According to Austrian tax law capital gains are subject to taxation if they relate to Notes that were held as<br />
business assets.<br />
Capital gains realised by individuals (and certain types of corporate entities, e.g., a private-law fo<strong>und</strong>ation)<br />
that hold the Notes as a private investment are only taxed if the capital gains relate to Notes that were not<br />
held for more than one year or if the capital gains realised in respect of the Notes are treated as<br />
investment income due to the particular terms and conditions of the Notes (e.g., Equity Linked Notes,<br />
Index Linked Notes, or Zero Coupon Notes). Capital losses incurred by individuals that hold the Notes as a<br />
private investment may only off-set taxable capital gains realized in respect of private investments.<br />
c. Some specific rules regarding various types of Notes<br />
Fixed/Floating Rate Notes<br />
In case of a redemption or an early buy-back (by the Issuer) of privately held Notes that carry interest, any<br />
difference between issuing price and a higher redemption (early buy-back) price will be tax free, provided<br />
the Notes were held for more than one year and the difference does not exceed a certain percentage (e.g.,<br />
in respect of Notes with a term of at least five years 2%). If the difference exceeds the respective<br />
percentage, it is taxed as income from the investment of capital.<br />
Supplementary Capital Notes<br />
Even though Supplementary Capital Notes are similar to jouissance rights or other equity-like financial<br />
instruments, they are taxed like debt securities due to explicit regulatory provisions. Upon redemption a<br />
positive difference between the redemption price and the issue price is taxed as described in the previous<br />
paragraph.<br />
Zero Coupon Notes<br />
If the amount realized upon a redemption (or a buy-back) of Zero Coupon Notes held by an individual (and<br />
certain types of corporate entities, e.g., private-law fo<strong>und</strong>ations) exceeds the issue price, the portion of the<br />
amount realized attributable to the difference between (i) the intrinsic value of the Notes (based on the rate<br />
of return of the Notes, Innerer Wert) and (ii) the issue price is treated as income from capital investment<br />
and, therefore, taxed like interest income. If the amount realized in this context exceeds the intrinsic value<br />
of the Notes, such excess is treated as a capital gain and taxed accordingly. The same applies in case of<br />
a disposition of Zero Coupon Notes that are held by an individual (and certain types of corporate entities,<br />
e.g., private-law fo<strong>und</strong>ations).<br />
Dual Currency Notes<br />
Any capital gain on fluctuations of foreign currencies will be realized only upon conversion to euro.<br />
Step-Up and Step-Down Notes<br />
Capital gains (or capital losses) relating to Step-Up and Step-Down Notes held by individuals might, to a<br />
certain extent, be treated as income from the investment of capital (or as expenses) rather than as capital<br />
gains (or capital losses). The amount of such income from the investment of capital (or the amount of the<br />
expenses) is determined based on a formula that reflects the rate of return of the specific Note. Step-Down<br />
Notes may even be treated like Zero Coupon Notes depending on the value fluctuations of the respective<br />
Notes.<br />
Structured Notes