The Austrian Supreme Administrative Court had to decide whether social security payments which relate to the foreign (German) part of the taxpayer’s income are deductible from the taxable base in Austria. The court held that Austria as the residence state of the taxpayer must consider the entire social security payments and based its reasoning on Article 18 of the Tax Treaty with Germany, the European Fundamental Freedoms, as well as domestic tax law provisions. Theres Neumüller discusses this decision and provides a critical analysis of the issues addressed by the court.
