Time of the essence – ITR’s Switzerland Guide 2023 launched

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2025

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

Time of the essence – ITR’s Switzerland Guide 2023 launched

pocket-watch-1637396.jpg

ITR has partnered with leading Swiss tax specialists to consider the most pressing taxation issues facing the country.

2023 marks a critical moment in Swiss taxation. The country is forging ahead with the implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax, while the tax authorities are also adjusting to the new reality of working from home and managing cross-border commuting. Another significant area in the jurisdiction, fintech and blockchain, is similarly demanding guidelines that keep pace with the rapid developments in the sector.

Deloitte Switzerland considers the benefits and risks as Switzerland pushes towards the implementation of the GloBE Rules into domestic law, with a referendum due on June 18 2023. If the referendum approves an amendment to the Swiss constitution, the government will press ahead with its plans, with a view towards the introduction of the rules from January 1 2024.

Adaptation to take account of developments is also a theme in the article from Tax Partner AG, which analyses Switzerland’s bilateral cross-border commuter agreements, with a special focus on working from home. The COVID pandemic has perhaps changed the nature of working from home for ever, with the authors identifying the issues relating to the taxation of employment income for commuters with employment in Switzerland but residency abroad.

MLL Legal explains the Swiss guidelines relating to the qualification and categorisation of block rewards of cryptocurrency consensus mechanisms in the country’s tax law. The recent developments are analysed as Switzerland establishes itself as one of the world's leading locations in the areas of distributed ledger/blockchain technology.

The authors from burckhardt note the increasing influence of Swiss administrative assistance in tax matters, which should be on the radar of companies with a group-related or a contractual link to Switzerland. Important information can be obtained by requesting administrative assistance from another state, usually based on a double taxation agreement.

Taxation in Switzerland is having to respond to developments in several areas, and these articles provide expert-level insight into how the country is addressing the challenges. Time is therefore of the essence for the tax authorities and taxpayers.

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

The threat of 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods coincides with new Brazilian legal powers to adopt retaliatory economic measures, local experts tell ITR
The country’s chancellor appears to have backtracked from previous pillar two scepticism; in other news, Donald Trump threatened Russia with 100% tariffs
In its latest G20 update, the OECD also revealed tense discussions with the US where the ‘significant threat’ of Section 899 was highlighted
The tax agency has increased compliance yield from wealthy individuals but cannot identify how much tax is paid by UK billionaires, the committee also claimed
Saffery cautioned that documentation requirements in new government proposals must be limited if medium-sized companies are not exempted from TP
The global minimum tax deal is not viable without US participation, Friedrich Merz has argued
Section 899 of the ‘one big beautiful’ bill would have spelled disaster for many international investors into the US, but following its shelving, attention turns to the fate of the OECD’s pillars
DLA Piper’s co-head of tax for the US and Latin America tells ITR about her fervent belief in equal access to the law, loving yoga, and paternal inspirations
Tax expert Craig Hillier agrees with the comparison of pillar two to using a sledgehammer to crack a nut
The amount is reported to be up 57% from the £5.6bn that the UK tax agency believes was underpaid in the previous year
Gift this article