Solution of the agency structure from internationalbusiness's blog

An agency structure is a company that has entered into an agreement with an offshore company (the principal) to act as an agent. The agency company itself does not carry out any business activities in Austria, but receives income from the agency commission.

At all stages, the agency company conducts business on behalf of the client, which may be a tax haven based company, under the terms of the agency agreement. Business transactions are processed through the Austrian company (which is allowed to trade with EU and non-EU companies for VAT purposes) and the income goes into their bank account. After deduction of a commission, the capital amount is transferred to the account of the actual seller (e.g. the EU company). Agency commission can be set at 2%, 5% or even higher and is typically paid annually. The Austrian company will declare the commission received as income taxable in Austria.