Tax debts run into millions – Benko’s private villa seized Geopolitics: everything will be fine, right?

Real estate group Signa, owned by former billionaire René Benko, has been in crisis for months. Now the founder himself is also being targeted by the authorities: the Republic of Austria has seized the Benko family’s private villa in Innsbruck due to years of non-payment of sales tax. Various media outlets report this unanimously.

That is why the Austrian tax authorities require a total amount 12,059,236.31 euros from Schlosshotel Igls Betriebs GmbH & Co. KG. This is largely owned by the Laura Private Foundation, which in turn is owned by René Benko and his mother Ingeborg.

The Tax Authorities’ requirements cover almost eight years until the end of September 2023 no sales tax paid should be. According to the Austrian broadcaster ORF, the seizure application has already been approved.

Benko’s private foundation rejects the allegations

Benko acquired the property, including the former castle hotel, through Schlosshotel Igls Betriebs GmbH in 2016 for 11.1 million euros. The entrepreneur then destroyed what he knew Luxury hotel and build a private villa with more than 1,000 square meters of living space and an associated plot of approximately 4,440 square meters. Benko and his family are said to have lived in the building.

The Laura Private Foundation rejected the allegations in a statement to the Austrian portal “Heute”. The sales tax has been paid correctly. It was refunded as part of the input tax. The Tax Authorities’ requirements have no legal basis. The foundation also told broadcaster ORF that reports about the private villa were “false and misleading”. The foundation also supports the distressed entrepreneur:

Signa’s flagship reports insolvency

After strong growth during the low interest rate phase, Benko’s empire encountered extreme difficulties due to higher interest rates, higher construction costs and higher energy prices. Recently, several companies in the group filed for bankruptcy, including the group’s real estate flagship, Signa Prime Selection AG. The company owns commercial properties in prime locations, including the Elbtower in Hamburg, the KaDeWe in Berlin and a luxury department store under construction in Vienna. You can read more about it here.

According to Creditreform, Signa is the largest bankruptcy in Austria’s post-war history. Signa Holding GmbH, whose insolvency proceedings have been going on for about a month, is in first place with a total debt burden of five billion euros, according to the APA news agency. This is followed by Signa Prime Selection AG with claims from creditors amounting to approximately 4.5 billion euros. Due to Signa Holding’s bankruptcy filing, the American magazine Forbes has removed Benko from its list of billionaires, about which you can read more here.

(With material from the dpa press agency)