Rene Benko in front of the Signa construction site on Vienna’s Mariahilfer Strasse© APA, Getty (photomontage)
Balance. How much does the Signa bankruptcy cost the Republic? SPÖ representative Jan Krainer asked all ministries how much the network of companies currently owes to the federal government – and received almost only zero reports. Only Justice Minister Alma Zadic reports: A Signa company was unable to pay court fees of 206 euros. In addition, “a total of 14,000 euros are outstanding in the course of 11 open coercive penalty orders from 2023”. So it’s more like peanuts.
Millions are at stake. Nevertheless, the all-clear cannot be given. Due to tax secrecy, Finance Minister Magnus Brunner is not allowed to say which tax debts or deferrals are open. But this should not be peanuts: As the president of the financial procuratorate Wolfgang Peschorn told the “Presse”, the tax debts are “depending on the company in the single-digit and almost double-digit million range”. This can add up to a hefty sum. At best, the financial authorities see 30% of this. In addition, there are also claims from the health insurance fund about social security contributions that have not been due, as Social Affairs Minister Johannes Rauch confirmed.
The Kika-Leiner case. In any case, the republic has already paid for the Kika-Leiner bankruptcy, when tax deferrals of 49 million euros remained open. In the end, Signa wanted to indemnify itself with a payment of 20 million in the sale of Kika – but then only transferred an instalment of 5 million…