Real estate investor - Tax claims: Villa of Signa founder Benko seized
The Austrian tax authorities have seized a luxury villa belonging to bankrupt real estate investor René Benko. As can be seen from the land register, the tax office in Vienna has registered a lien of around 12 million euros for the property in the Innsbruck district of Igls, as the authorities believe that VAT of this amount is outstanding.
The villa belongs to a company, which in turn is owned by a Benko family foundation. The foundation informed the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that the taxes had been refunded by the tax office in the past and were now being wrongly claimed. Austrian media had previously reported on the seizure.
However, the Ministry of Finance stated that such refunded taxes become outstanding tax debts again if the tax office comes to the conclusion that a property is not used for commercial purposes. The villa is considered one of Benko's residences. The lien, which is now recorded in the land register in a similar way to a bank mortgage, serves to secure the outstanding claims. This does not necessarily mean that the villa will be auctioned off by the state.
The most important parts of the Signa real estate and retail group built up by Benko are insolvent. Last week, the luxury real estate unit Signa Prime (KaDeWE, Elbtower) and the real estate development company Signa Development filed for insolvency. Benko's network of companies, which also includes the department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, has faltered due to rising interest rates, construction costs and energy prices.
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- Despite the seizure of his luxury villa in Igls, Austria, Rene Benko's real estate and retail group, Signa, continues to face financial challenges.
- The tax office in Vienna believed that Benko's villa, a luxury property in the Innsbruck district, had VAT of around 12 million euros that was yet to be paid.
- The seized villa in Igls is just one of Rene Benko's residences and served as a security for the outstanding tax claims.
- The construction costs, rising interest rates, and energy prices have put a strain on Benko's network of companies, leading to the insolvency of Signa Prime and Signa Development last week.
- Rene Benko, the founder of Signa, is a prominent figure in the Austrian real estate scene, known for building up a significant portion of the company's assets.
- The seizure of Benko's villa was not the first tax dispute for the real estate investor, as Austrian media reported similar incidents in the past.
- Benko's foundation argued that the claimed taxes had been refunded earlier and were now being wrongly claimed by the tax office, but the Vienna Ministry of Finance disagreed, stating that refunded taxes become outstanding tax debts again if the property is not used for commercial purposes.
Source: www.stern.de
