The focus of the survey was, among other things, the examination of the “Chalet N”, which is said to have served René Benko and his guests as a private luxury residence.
The first respondent stated that he had audited ten Signa Group companies as of 2018. From his point of view, it was noticeable that the Signa Luxury Collection did not pay the rent for Chalet N, which in turn belongs to another Signa company. It was also unusual that the claims for rent arrears did not bear interest – this was not customary, so he stipulated appropriate interest. Arm’s length requires that transactions within a group be carried out in the same way as they would be concluded with external third parties.
“Cannot force companies to collect debts”
“I cannot order the company to collect debts,” the auditor said. It was not a matter of “hobbyism”, i.e. the fact that the rental of the chalet was not designed to make a profit in the long term, “it was not agreed in the rental agreement that the rent does not have to be paid. (…) If someone is on the rent “I can’t judge that until I take the exam.”
He only had one telephone contact with the high-ranking tax official who was next invited and against whom, as it became known on Friday, criminal proceedings had been initiated for abuse of office. Namely when he informed him about the relocation of Schlosshotel Igls GmbH from Vienna to Innsbruck.
The relocation of Signa 2018 from Vienna to Innsbruck was also a topic in the survey. However, this made no difference to the tax audits, the respondent replied to a corresponding question. In general, “I did not experience any interventions during my exams.”
The MPs were also concerned about a meeting between the auditor and Benko. The purpose of the meeting was “to introduce us to the Signa Group” because we knew that the group was very extensive. There was “coffee and a few snacks” at the meeting; such meetings are not unusual.
Exclusion of the media discussed
The interviewee had no knowledge of, for example, the Tuchlauben complex, a “discount agreement” that, among other things, was said to have existed for Benko according to the contract, or COFAG funding that Chalet N, which is named after Benko’s wife Nathalie, is said to have received.
At the beginning of the meeting, the exclusion of the media public was also an issue because the tax office for large companies had submitted a letter stating that the interviews on the Signa cases should only be dealt with in a confidential meeting due to ongoing audits. As a result, the respondents should now raise concerns themselves if the rights of taxpayers could be violated by individual questions, otherwise the survey will be conducted publicly.
The representatives of the parliamentary groups – with the exception of the ÖVP – suspect that not everything went correctly during audits in René Benko’s environment – for example the Schlosshotel Igls GmbH or the “Chalet N”. NEOS faction leader Yannick Shetty sees a system in the Innsbruck tax office “in which what counts is who you know, and not what you can do (…) It’s not about Benko, it’s about a system where rich people, if they meet certain conditions, can count on tax breaks.”
Key question: Were billionaires treated better?
The central question of this committee and today is: “Were billionaires treated better, especially if they were connected to the ÖVP?” SPÖ parliamentary group leader Jan Krainer took the same line. “How far the ÖVP’s willingness has gone,” Christian Ries (FPÖ) wants to know today.
“Without political support, these castles in the air would never have existed,” said the Green Party’s Nina Tomaselli, referring to “the biggest bankruptcy in Austrian history (Signa, note).” Only the ÖVP parliamentary group leader Andreas Hanger does not see any “improper political influence measure far and wide”.
Benko himself as well as the director of the financial market supervisory board, Eduard Müller, are expected on Thursday. The third President of the National Council, Norbert Hofer (FPÖ), is in the chair today. National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka is currently in Israel to meet, among others, President Yitzhak Herzog.
