Temporary obligation to provide benefits Nevertheless, the Federal Ministry of Economy, Family and Youth agrees with the AOB’s viewpoint that any difference of opinion between the EU member states may not be played out at the expense of families. The Tax Office is therefore being advised, in the event of conflicts of jurisdiction, to apply the requirements under EU law (Section 6 (2) jointly with Section 60 (4) of the EU Regulation 987/2009), according to which that country, in which the family is living, must temporarily grant family benefits after two months. This also applies when extensive investigations between entities in two member states are necessary and last for many months (e.g. in order to determine the amount of a benefit; see recital no. 10 of the Regulation 987/2009). In the AOB’s experience, this is currently not being complied with by the authorities. “Posthumous children” As was the case in the previous years, in some cases the AOB was able to clarify that it was so-called “posthumous children” within the meaning of Section 3 (5) of the Family Allowance Act 1967 that were at issue. This means that the entitlement to a family allowance and child care benefits exists from the date of the birth (respectively, from the arrival in Austria) and not from the date of the later granting of a residence permit. In the concrete case of a Chinese girl, it must be noted that the regulation also includes stepchildren. Time limitations of family allowances There continue to be occasionally unjustified time limitations of family allowances for persons who are not Austrian citizens. During the year under review, for example, the Tax Office granted a French citizen a family allowance for her newborn daughter only for 23 months, although she has had her permanent residence and centre of vital interests in Austria for 15 years, jointly with her Austrian life partner and father of the child. As a result of the AOB’s intervention, the family allowance has now been time limited until the daughter’s majority. Individual cases: VA-BD-JF/0016-A/1/2011, 0073-A/1/2012, 0065-A/1/2012, 0057-A/1/2011, 0130-A/1/2011, 0015-A/1/2011, 0005/1/2011, 0041-A/1/2012, 0089-A/1/2010), 0102-A/1/2012, 0036-A/1/2012, 0022-A/1/2012, 0007-A/1/2012, 0026-A/1/2012, VA-BD-SV/1265-A/1/2011 80