On June 22, 2017 the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA) issued a press release to announce that the 2017 version of the brochure “The Swiss Tax System” had been released by the Information Committee of the Swiss Tax Conference. The brochure explains the functioning of the Swiss tax system and also mentions the most recent changes on the federal and cantonal levels.

This is the first time the brochure is published in the English version. According to the FTA, the English version particularly addresses taxpayers of foreign nationalities that are unfamiliar with the Swiss tax system. In addition to an overview of the taxes levied by the Confederation, the cantons and communes, it also goes into detail concerning cantonal specialties.

 

The brochure is available in German, French, Italian and English. The English version of the brochure discusses a.o. topics:

·   General

·   Who levies taxes in Switzerland?

·   Basic principles of fiscal sovereignty

o  Principle of equality before the law (art. 8 Cst)

o  Principle of economic freedom (art. 27 and art. 94–107 Cst)

o  Principle of guarantee of ­ownership (art. 26 Cst)

o  Principle of freedom of religion and conscience (art. 15 Cst)

o  Prohibition of inter-cantonal double taxation (art. 127 para. 3 Cst)

o  Prohibition of unjustified tax benefits (art. 129 para. 3 Cst)

·   The people have the ­final say

·   Assessment and collection of taxes

o  Assessment

o  Tax collection

·   Tax burden in ­Switzerland

o  Reasons for the different tax burdens in Switzerland

o  National fiscal equalization

·   Development of the Swiss tax system

·   Federal taxes

o  Taxes on income and profits as well as other direct taxes

§   Direct federal tax

·   Income tax for individuals

·   Profit tax for legal entities

§   Federal casino tax

·   Tax reductions for casinos

§   Military service exemption tax

o  Consumption-based taxation

§   Value added tax

·   Taxation principle

·   Special features

·   Tax rates

·   Tax collection

·   Earmarking of some receipts

§   Federal withholding tax

§   Federal stamp duties

·   Issuance duty

·   Transfer duty

·   Duty on insurance premiums

·   Tax collection

§   Special consumption taxes

·   Tobacco tax

·   Beer tax

·   Mineral oil tax

·   Automobile tax

·   Taxation of spirits

o  Customs duties

§   General

§   Import duties

·   Working tariff

·   Tariff preferences

·   Variable components

·   Cantonal and communal taxes

o Taxes on income and assets as well as other direct taxes

§   Preliminary remarks

§   Income tax for individuals

·   Taxation at source

·   Expenditure-based taxation

§   Poll or household tax

§   Wealth tax for individuals

§   Profit and capital taxes for legal entities

·   Minimum tax

§   Inheritance and gift taxes

§   Tax on lottery and Sport-Toto winnings

§   Capital gains on movable private assets

§   Property gains tax

§   Real estate tax

§   Real estate transfer tax

§   Cantonal casino tax

§   Trade tax

o  Property and expenditure taxes

§   Motor vehicle tax

§   Dog tax

§   Entertainment tax

§   Cantonal stamp duties and register duties

§   Lottery tax

o  Other duties

§   City tax/visitor’s tax

§   Tourism promotion tax

§   Fire brigade exemption tax

§   Water tax

 

Click on the language of your choice to download the brochure from the website of the FTA in that language. The brochure comes in the form of a downloadable Pdf document. (German, French, Italian or English)

 


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