The Swiss tax landscape is constantly changing. A number of important topics are currently underway:

• Tax law revisions. Tax law revisions are pending in various cantons. Lucerne is planning to significantly reduce the tax burden on capital payments for private individuals from CHF 40,000 by 2025. In addition, a new degressive social deduction will be introduced for low incomes. Child deductions and childcare costs will also be increased. Companies can benefit from a significantly lower capital taxes. As the capital tax per se is fundamentally an unfair tax, as values that have already been taxed are taxed again - and in many cantons are significantly lower or are offset against the profit tax, we consider this to be important for Lucerne as a business location. Legislative revisions are also pending in Zug and Aargau.
• Abolition of the imputed rental value? The federal government has been negotiating the abolition of the imputed rental value for some time. Last week, the Council of States discussed the matter. Will it only be abolished for primary residences or also for vacation homes? Tourism regions could suffer considerable tax losses as a result. What interest can then still be deducted? In addition, the imputed rental value is a burden on taxpayers when mortgage interest rates are low. However, if interest rates are at the current level or higher and if mortgages are subject to interest, it is interesting for the taxpayer to pay tax on the imputed rental value and deduct the higher interest on the debt. The banks also have an interest in maintaining the system in this way. It is to be expected that we will have to pay tax on imputed rental value for a long time to come.
• Will the marriage penalty finally be abolished? Today, married people's incomes are added together and then taxed at a higher progressive rate. The spouse deduction is generally so high that married couples with lower incomes benefit from this taxation and married couples with higher incomes pay an incompatible marriage penalty. The fact that individual taxation should abolish this injustice is actually undisputed - but the topic involves sensitive family and social political issues, which is why the political mills grind very slowly here too and the level of income can still be decisive for a long time as to whether people get married or not.
• Value added tax. There will be an important change to VAT from 2025. SMEs will then only have to submit their VAT returns annually. This will mean a major simplification for many companies.
• OECD minimum tax. The OECD minimum tax is a major construction site. We still do not know whether or not this will be introduced by the federal government on January 1, 2024. This affects companies with a turnover of EUR 750 million or more and their subsidiaries.

We will keep an overview for you and monitor tax reforms so that we can continue to advise you professionally and with foresight.

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