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COUNTRY TRADING PROFILES
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Taxes - Accounting
Tax Rates |
Accounting Rules
Tax Rates
Consumption taxes
- Nature of the tax
-
Value Added Tax (VAT)
- Tax rate
- 8%
- Reduced tax rate
- 2.5% for certain goods and services, which include: foodstuffs; agricultural products (meats, cereals, plants, seed and flowers); medicine and drugs; newspapers; magazines; books and other printed materials; and radio and TV services.
3.8% on hotel and lodging industry (will be 3.8% from 2011).
Most banking services are exempt of VAT.
- Other consumption taxes
- Federal and cantonal governments levy excise taxes on a number products.
Corporate taxes
Tax rate
| Corporate tax |
A federal tax rate of 8.5% is levied on net income. Since income and capital taxes are deductible in determining taxable income, the effective rate tax rate is 7.83%. The cantonal / communal tax rates range between 10.7% and 24.5% depending on the canton and municipality of residency. For more details, consult Taxation.ch. |
- Tax rate for foreign companies
- Resident companies are subject to:
- Federal corporate income tax;
- cantonal/municipal corporate income taxes
- the cantonal/municipal net worth taxes.
Non-resident companies deriving income from certain Swiss sources may be subject to withholding taxes or be liable to corporate income tax in respect of such income.
- Main allowable deductions and tax credit
- Business expenses, depreciation, and taxes paid at federal, cantonal or municipal levels are subjected to deductions. Also, indirect taxes such as import duties and foreign taxes (not covered under unilateral or tax-treaty relief provisions) are deductible. Moreover, losses may be carried forward for seven years.
- Other corporate taxes
- Stamp duties (1%), Land registration fees, etc.
Individual taxes
Tax rate
| Individual income tax by Canton |
Rate includes Federal Tax, Cantonal Tax, Communal Tax and Church Tax |
| Jura |
42.28% |
| Basel-Land |
40.78% |
| Geneva |
40.68% |
| Bern |
40.44% |
| Vaud |
39.40% |
| Zurich |
39.18% |
| Ticino |
39.11% |
| Basel-Stadt |
37.58% |
| Neuchâtel |
37.35% |
| Valais |
34.97% |
| Solothurn |
34.84% |
| Fribourg |
34.54% |
| Aargau |
34.20% |
| Thurgau |
33.92% |
| Glarus |
33.83% |
| St. Gallen |
32.62% |
| Graubünden |
32.27% |
| Schaffhausen |
31.88% |
| Luzern |
31.19% |
| Appenzell A.Rh |
30.17% |
| Nidwalden |
26.13% |
| Appenzell I.Rh |
30.17% |
| Uri |
25.43% |
| Zug |
23.82% |
| Schwyz |
23.15% |
| Obwalden |
22.42% |
- Allowable deductions and tax credit
- Personal deductions vary according to the status of each person (single person, bridegrooms, dependant child, etc.).
Medical care and insurance allowances are often deductible.
- Special expatriate tax regime
- Expatriates working in Switzerland pay the same tax rate as Swiss nationals. However certain special employment costs may be deducted from the tax base.
 We can indicate you which local taxes are applied to your product.
Accounting Rules
- Tax year
- The fiscal year begins on January 1st and ends on December 31st of the same year.
- Accounting standards
- The Swiss Code of Obligations does not contain any provisions on the accounting standard according to which a consolidated financial statement must be prepared. Only the IPO laws of the SWX Swiss Exchange require that an accepted accounting standard based on the "true and fair view" principle be used (such as Swiss GAAP FER, IFRS or US GAAP). However Swiss GAAP FER accounting standards are used by the national groups and small and mid-sized organizations. In addition, sector-specific standards exist to regulate accounting provisions for pension funds, insurance companies and non-profit organizations. Companies listed on the main board of the SIX Swiss Exchange and listed companies domiciled in the EU have to prepare their consolidated financial statements in accordance with IFRS, thus conforming to the global trend towards IFRS financial reporting.
- Accounting regulation bodies
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Treuhand-Kammer
- Accounting reports
- Any company that is registered with the register of commerce in Switzerland needs to maintain a book-of-account and is obliged to follow the general commercial accounting principles as set forth in the Swiss Code of Obligations. Moreover it is compulsory to maintain the balance sheet, the profit-and-loss statement and the inventory in Swiss francs, but this requirement does not apply to the day-to-day bookkeeping.
- Publication requirements
- As per the law, an annual financial statement with its associated income statement, balance sheet and notes must be prepared. It must be made in a manner such that company's assets and earnings can be valued as accurately as possible.
- Professional accountancy bodies
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Treuhand-Kammer
- Certification and auditing
- Companies have to seek a statutory auditor to conduct an annual audit of the financial health of their organization. You can contactn the Swiss Federal Audit Office.
- Accounting news
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Accounting news in Switzerland and Central Europe by einnews.com
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Last updates: May 2012
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