|
|
| Jackie Hess |
Raoul Stocker |
On February 12 2017, the Swiss electorate rejected CTR III
in its proposed form. On the occasion of the quarterly CFO
Survey of Deloitte, more than 100 chief financial officers
(CFOs) in Switzerland were asked shortly after the vote what
they now expect from a revised tax reform.
Although the content of the revised legislation is yet
unknown, a new version of the reform will likely entail the
undisputed elements of the rejected reform. More than 100 CFOs
were questioned on their priorities as to which elements should
be considered in the revised tax reform so that Switzerland
remains, in their eyes, an attractive business location. The
key findings were:
- Of those surveyed, 87% of CFOs would like
the law to grant the cantons extensive leeway for tax rate
reductions;
- Of those surveyed, 64% prefer to retain a
generous tax deduction for research and development expenses.
Moreover, 44% see the patent box regime as a suitable
measure; and
- The notional interest deduction was one of
the most controversial measures of the rejected reform. Only
39% of the questioned CFOs see this as a suitable measure to
be considered in a new law.
Swiss CFOs now expect political stakeholders to come up with
a compatible solution and take the necessary time for it
– irrespective of the EU/OECD deadline for abolishing
the tax privileges of companies by 2019. The main findings were
as follows:
- Of those survey, 59% believe a legislative
process in one piece to be launched as soon as possible is
the most promising path. The new law should realistically
come into force by 2020 or 2021;
- Only about a third (30%) of respondents
favour a two-step approach. The first step would abolish the
tax privileges by 2019, combined with a solution for the
transition, and the second step would present additional
potential measures; and
- The development of a completely new Swiss
tax system (6%) or a "do-nothing" approach (6%) are basically
not considered as an option.
The results show that Swiss CFOs are very much interested in
an immediate and viable solution at the political level.
However, rash decisions and interim solutions should be
explicitly avoided. Rather, a comprehensive solution should be
developed, which is well balanced and backed by the majority of
stakeholders.
Jackie Hess (jahess@deloitte.ch) and
Raoul Stocker (rstocker@deloitte.ch)
Deloitte
Tel: +41 58 279 6312 and +41 58 279 6271
Website: www.deloitte.ch