• Above-average purchasing power of Austrian consumers, with a per capita GDP of almost 34,000 euros, makes Austria a worthwhile market for international companies despite its relatively small size and population. Austria is also the fourth richest country in the EU
• Companies as good customers – the gross fixed capital formation of Austrian companies reached a share of 22.4 % of GDP in 2008
• Highly developed infrastructure

• Central location at the heart of Europe with optimum connections both west and east.
• The major commercial interlinks with the new Central and Eastern European Accession States makes Austria the winner of the eastward expansion
• Geographic proximity to the growth markets of Central and Eastern Europe with average economic growth of 4.4 % (2008)
• Experience through a total of 16,000 joint ventures already in existence between companies from Austria and Eastern Europe
• Eastern European coordination center for around 1,000 foreign companies and 40 international institutions involved in Central and Eastern Europe
• Competences and contacts – service providers, banks, business consultants and tax advisors have extensive expertise, contacts and competences concerning business in Eastern Europe and know exactly “where, how and with whom”
• “Neutrality” – given the image competition between the countries of Eastern Europe, having your headquarters on “neutral territory” such as Austria is an advantage
• Distribution centre and logistical hub between west and east as well as for the Balkans
• Investment king in the east – Austria is the leading investor in Slovenia, Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Bosnia-Herzegovina. It occupies 2nd place in Serbia, 3rd place in the Czech Republic and Macedonia
• Ideal connections – with 47 destinations and almost 600 flights each week, Vienna airport has developed into an efficient hub for Eastern and South-Eastern Europe

Strong productivity growth of 44,9 % between 1997 and 2007. Thus Austria is clearly ahead of Japan, France and Switzerland.In terms of productivity based on purchasing power, Austria ranks 8th* (with an hourly production of 44.71 USD per employee, followed by Germany (ranked 11th), Great Britain (ranked 16th), Japan (ranked 19th) and Switzerland (ranked 20th).

* Source: World Competitiveness Yearbook 2009

The second lowest corporate taxation within the EU15 with a uniform rate of corporation tax of 25 % – according to the Centre for European Economic Research, the effective tax on profits is just below 22.4 %

No wealth tax or trade tax

Most attractive group taxation in Europe

Exclusion possibilities and generous rulings on tax-free allowances for investments in research (up to 35 %) and training (20 %), new technologies as well as start-ups

• 2,800 competence centers, research and development facilities
• Four out of five manufacturing multinationals carry out strategic research and development (R&D) for the entire group in Austria
• “House of research“ as “one-stop-shop”
• Research trust: an additional 80 million Euros for subsidies – innovative R&D projects are subsidized by up to 50 %

• Regional subsidies for investments
• Up to 35 % tax-free allowance for research
• 20 % tax-free allowance for training
• Trainee bonus