Due to tax proceedings

Audit team with “canapés and coffee” in Benko’s office

Benko hosted auditors from the Innsbruck tax office in his office. It is suspected that not everything was legally correct in Signa's tax audits.

(Bild: Christof Birbaumer / Kronenzeitung)

The "Benko Committee" entered its second round of questioning on Wednesday. Three senior tax officials were questioned about the low interest rates and tax proceedings of Tyrolean financial juggler René Benko. Benko himself wanted to appear before the sub-committee on Thursday. His lawyer has now announced that he will not be testifying after all.

At least officially, René Benko had no official function at Signa in 2020. Nevertheless, the Tyrolean financial juggler himself invited tax auditors from the Innsbruck tax office to his office to give them a "very general" presentation of the Signa structure, according to one of those present. For the ÖVP, this is "a standard procedure when opening a tax audit procedure", for the opposition it is rather unusual.

According to the first respondent, the purpose of the meeting was "to introduce the Signa Group to us" because it was known that the group was very extensive. At the meeting, there was "a coffee and a few snacks", but according to him, such meetings are not unusual.

In 2020, Benko presented the Signa structure to tax auditors.

(Bild: Michael Buchner Starpix/ Alexander TUMA, Krone KREATIV)

The initial focus of the questioning on Wednesday was the audit of "Chalet N", which René Benko and his guests are said to have used as a private luxury residence. As the "Krone" revealed, the Ukrainian oligarch Vadym Novynskyi was among them. He is said to have helped finance Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and was a guest at the luxury chalet as recently as 2023.

The first respondent conducted a tax audit of a total of ten Signa Group companies from 2018 onwards. It was striking 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 receivables for the rent arrears were not interest-bearing - this was not at arm's length, which is why he prescribed a corresponding interest rate. Arm's length requires that transactions within a group are structured in the same way as they would be with third parties.

Tax office at the center
The Innsbruck tax office was the focus of the committee on Wednesday. Some of the persons invited to provide information were entrusted with auditing cases in the Signa Group and were asked to present their observations to the MPs. The representatives of all parliamentary groups - with the exception of the ÖVP - suspect that not everything was legally correct during audits in Benko's environment - such as Schlosshotel Igls GmbH or "Chalet N".

NEOS identify tax concessions
NEOS parliamentary group leader Yannick Shetty has identified a system at the Innsbruck tax office "in which what counts is who you know and not what you can do", he said, not for the first time. The relocation of Signa's headquarters from Vienna to Innsbruck in 2018 was the first time anyone had become aware of this, he said, whereupon an "insider" came forward and painted a "bleak" picture. "It's not about Benko, it's about a system where the rich can expect tax breaks if they meet certain conditions."

The second interviewee vehemently defended himself against accusations made by individuals. When Signa moved from Vienna to Innsbruck in 2018 and the associated change of jurisdiction, the tax office "had no influence at all." The transfer of Schlosshotel Igls GmbH was also "completely lawful". According to him, the Innsbruck tax office had already imposed more on Benko in the past than was then permitted. The relocation of the registered office had made no difference to the tax audits, another respondent replied to a corresponding question. In general, "I have not experienced any interventions during my audits."

"Like Kafka at the trial"
All three Innsbruck tax officials interviewed rejected the accusation of special treatment of the Signa founder. "The real scandal here is that nothing is being made into a scandal," grumbled one high-ranking official in his opening statement. "I feel like I'm at Kafka's trial". The complaint filed lacked "expertise" and "basic tax knowledge".

Benko does not appear
There were already doubts in the run-up to the hearing that Benko would testify before the U Committee as announced in February. Now he has canceled his planned appearance for Thursday at short notice, as confirmed to the "Krone". Benko's lawyer, Norbert Wess, justified his refusal with the large number of statements of facts that have been brought against his client. This makes it "virtually impossible at this point in time" to prepare the content of the sub-committee. This is because Benko does not know the allegations against him, which makes it incompatible with human rights to testify under an obligation to tell the truth, according to Wess.

NEOS want a penalty
The refusal is unlikely to have any consequences: Because the questioning in the COFAG committee ends in May, there is no time for another summons. The NEOS will apply for a penalty. It is unlikely that this will be imposed: according to the "Standard", the competent administrative court is making this dependent on whether a respondent can appear before the U-Committee. This will not be possible in terms of time.

The Director of the Financial Market Authority, Eduard Müller, is also expected to appear on Thursday. In any case, the committee was again chaired on Wednesday by the third President of the National Council, Norbert Hofer (FPÖ). National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka is currently in Israel to meet with President Yitzhak Herzog, among others.