According to Sec 94 no 2 of the Austrian Income Tax Act in conjunction with Sec 1 no 1 of the regulation BGBl 1995/56, relief from withholding tax at source is not allowed if there are circumstances that indicate abuse according to Sec 22 of the Austrian Federal Fiscal Code. However, the assumption of abuse can be refuted by providing a written declaration from the company receiving the dividend showing that this company carries out activities beyond mere asset management and has its own employees and its own business premises. In this context, the question arises whether substance and activities of a partnership are attributable to its shareholder and recipient of dividends for the purposes of withholding tax relief at source and, accordingly, whether profit distributions by an Austrian entity to its German shareholders can be made without deduction of withholding tax. Sebastian Koch and Alexander Stieglitz discuss a recently published EAS of the Austrian Ministry of Finance.