According to “Kurier”, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner (ÖVP) is aiming for a corresponding legal change. Currently, sales tax must be paid for the removal of goods for purposes that are outside the company’s purpose. The trade association welcomed Brunner’s announcement in a press release.
“If a tax regulation means that valuable and high-quality food is not donated to charitable institutions, then that cannot be in the spirit of the inventor and should be changed as quickly as possible,” said Brunner. In the future, food donations to organizations that pursue charitable purposes should be exempt from tax.
“A real game changer”
This closes an “important building block in the distribution of food between food retailers and food banks as well as social institutions,” says trade association president Rainer Will. “This tax adjustment is a real game changer because it will make it even easier for companies to donate in the future.” This will also make it much easier to “pass on preliminary stages of the food trade, such as agricultural production, production but also gastronomy, where there is still a lot to be gained.”
