Digital tax: what changes for IT companies

The topic of digital taxation exists on two distinct levels: what is already in force in Austria, and what is being discussed at the EU level. Conflating the two is counterproductive — decisions are made on the basis of the former, while anxiety is driven by the latter.

What is already in force in Austria

Austria has its own levy on online advertising: five percent of revenue from advertising services directed at Austrian users. It targets large platforms — it applies only above high global and local turnover thresholds. For a typical Ukrainian IT company in Vienna, it is practically irrelevant.

What the EU debate is about

A common EU digital tax has been under discussion for years, and each time it has given way to global negotiations on the reallocation of taxing rights. The practical conclusion for businesses: plan not around a hypothetical European tax, but around the principle already being implemented — what matters is where the service is consumed.

What this means for a Ukrainian IT company in Austria

Three things are worth putting in order regardless of future rules. First — correct determination of the place of supply for USt purposes: for B2B within the EU this is most commonly reverse charge, for B2C it is the country of consumption. Second — registration under the simplified OSS scheme, if you have digital products for private customers across multiple countries. Third — tracking where your users actually come from: that data will be needed sooner than it seems.

Our conclusion is pragmatic: monitoring the debate is worthwhile, but restructuring your setup in response to headlines is not. A company with properly configured USt and honest country-level analytics will meet any version of the rules without having to relocate.