Dear Madam or Sir, The proverb “Rome wasn’t built in a day” was proven true by the long path to the public’s acceptance of the Swiss Federal Tax Reform. The reform brings about an unprecedented change to the Swiss corporate tax landscape. Nearly all companies are affected by the most significant overhaul of the Swiss tax system in decades. We identify the implications of the reform in general (in German, English and French) and for transfer pricing in particular (in German). We also discuss the Council of the EU’s decision of 12 March 2019 – i.e. prior to the referendum on the Swiss Federal Tax Reform - to leave Switzerland on the “grey” rather than the “black” list. In the VAT realm (in German), the Swiss Federal Tax Administration adjusted its practice to simplify VAT payment for international athletes in Swiss sports events. We summarize the Swiss parliamentary discussions during the latest session regarding VAT. Further, we discuss a new Swiss Federal Supreme Court decision on VAT treatment of cost premiums, which is of particular relevance to the insurance sector. On the international tax front, the Swiss parliament approved the ratification of the Multilateral Agreement on Implementation of BEPS Measures, which was signed by Switzerland on 7 June 2017. We summarize the key elements of the agreement for Switzerland. Digitalization is THE key word of current times. Naturally, a variety of tax aspects play a role. We discuss the most relevant aspects to consider and recommend actions. The UK’s withdrawal from the EU (“Brexit”) will also have an impact on Switzerland. One area that should be kept in mind is social security. As always, these contributions and many others are available at the EY Switzerland Blog. The blog offers facts, stories, insights and personal opinions on tax and a broad range of other topics. For your convenience, we will still regularly consolidate the tax blog contributions and provide them to you in newsletter form. We look forward to continuing the dialogue with you. |