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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

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