Why Set Up Business in Austria?

Why Set Up Your Business in Austria?

As the fourth wealthiest country in the EU, Austria is also reputed to be one of the most profitable countries in the European region for international businesses. To date, more than 1,000 foreign companies have taken root in Austria, benefitting from the business-friendly environment in this destination. Let’s take a closer look at why Austria is a prime location for your business expansion.

 

Strategic Location

Due to its central location in the heart of Eastern Europe, Austria provides an ideal East-West business interface into the EU markets, making it a location of choice for foreign companies looking to establish their headquarters in this continent.

 

Political and Social Stability

The Austrian government continuously strives to maintain a secure international business environment through various social and employment policies. For example, Austria has one of the lowest strike rates worldwide – thanks to the economic and social partnership between management and labour representatives along with a policy of wage restraint.

 

Attractive Tax System

A business-friendly country, Austria has a liberal tax system, which translates to higher profits and lower investment risks for international businesses.

• Corporate income tax is calculated at a standard rate of 25% in Austria. Additionally, the Austrian government does not impose trade or net worth tax.
• The recent 2016 tax reform in Austria also includes an increase in the research premium from 10% to 12% while training offers a tax allowance of 20%. This applies to a company’s own R&D as well as contract research.

 

Broad Spectrum of Incentives

Foreign businesses can also profit from an extensive portfolio of incentives that includes grants and subsidies offered to international companies, for example to assist small and medium-sized enterprises, support research and development as well as for investment and technological promotion measures.

 

Excellent Workforce

One of Austria’s major strengths is its skilled workforce comprising highly-educated employees. Having achieved disproportionately high growth in productivity due to highly qualified employees, Austria is also one of the few countries with a very low unemployment rate.

 

Infrastructure & R&D Facilities

Connectivity and convergence are the hallmarks of Austria’s excellent infrastructure system which includes:

• state-of-the-art logistic systems comprising modern terminals with high bay storage facilities, sufficient trans-shipment areas and good transport connections. The Vienna International Airport is also one of the best-performing airports with respect to flight connections to the central and Eastern European region.
• first-class telecommunications infrastructure comprising high-speed broadband connections, nationwide mobile telephone networks and outstanding systems for business transactions.
• progressive research and development facilities – there are about 2,800 technologically oriented R&D institutes and 60 Centres of Excellence.

 

High Quality of Life

Home to 8.45 million people, Austria comes in a close second to Switzerland in terms of quality of life according to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2011. Low crime rate, a good education system, strong health care system as well as excellent recreational infrastructures reflect the high quality of life in Austria. Additionally, Austrians have the highest salaries in Europe, which contributes to their above average purchasing power.