Public CbC reporting in Liechtenstein

What does it mean for Liechtenstein entities?

In the light of the developments in the European Union and the fact that Liechtenstein is a European Economic Area member state, the government of Liechtenstein decided to introduce public Country-by-Country reporting. Under the public CbC reporting framework, large multinational companies based and operating in Liechtenstein are required to prepare, publish and keep publicly available a report containing information relating to income taxes. The public CbC report contains tax-related information for each country the company operates in, including total net revenue, profit before tax, income tax paid, number of employees and also a brief description of the activities in each country. The relevant information must be published on the company’s website. The deadline for the publication is no later than 12 months after the balance sheet date of the relevant financial year. The CbC report must be kept public for a period of at least five years. The publication of the CbC report in the Liechtenstein commercial register is not possible, in particular due to technical reasons.

What is the status of Liechtenstein’s legislation?

The parliament of Liechtenstein discussed the request of the government of Liechtenstein to introduce public CbC reporting in two readings, the first reading in December 2023 and the second reading in March 2024. In the second reading in March 2024, Liechtenstein’s parliament passed the legislation on public CbC reporting. To introduce the legislation on public CbC reporting, the Liechtenstein Persons and Companies Law (PGR) has been amended as at 1 July 2024 and is supplemented by the new articles 1140 - 1153 PGR on income tax reporting.

The new rules in the PGR on public income tax reporting are not yet applicable in Liechtenstein. For the rules to be applicable, the decision of the EEA Joint Committee is required. The EEA Joint Committee has to decide whether the rules on public income tax reporting shall be incorporated into the EEA Agreement. The rules are based on the respective EU Directive (Directive 2021/2101), which is currently being introduced across the EU member states. The member states of the European Economic Area (including Liechtenstein) basically aim to incorporate EU legislation in its legal system and it is therefore to be expected that the EEA Joint Committee will approve the adoption of the public CbC reporting. To date, the decision of the EEA Joint Committee is still pending but could still be made in 2024.

Once the EEA Joint Committee has approved the public CbC reporting, it will be applicable in Liechtenstein for financial years beginning on or after the date of entry into force of the decision of the EEA Joint Committee on the adoption of the EU directive. Thus, for Liechtenstein’s companies the public CbC reporting might become relevant from the 2025 financial year onwards.

Any exemptions from public CbC reporting?

Exempt from public CbC reporting are Liechtenstein banks and investment firms as they are subject to income tax reporting under other EU directives. Excluded are also companies that are exclusively based in Liechtenstein and do not have a branch or permanent establishment or business activity in any other tax jurisdiction. Also, the obligations on public CbC reporting shall only apply to Liechtenstein companies that are required to prepare consolidated financial statements in accordance with Art. 1097 ff PGR.

Thus, Liechtenstein companies with consolidated group sales exceeding EUR 750 million should take action to prepare for public CbC reporting and, in particular, check in a first step whether they are exempt from public CbC reporting.