Parliament adopts Tax Proposal 17

The Council of States and the National Council significantly approved the proposal on September 28, 2018. Thus, the amendments can come into effect on January 1, 2020, unless the proposal is rejected due to a possible referendum. Various parties have already announced that they will launch a referendum.

The preparation of Tax Proposal 17 was the responsibility of the Federal Council, which adopted the proposal on March 21, 2018, in its message. With this, it responds to international developments in the area of corporate taxes and aims to improve the attractiveness of Switzerland as a business location. The current legal situation no longer meets international standards and diminishes the attractiveness of Switzerland as an economic location. In many countries worldwide and also in Europe, corporate taxes are being reduced to be more attractive to companies. Additionally, Switzerland's tax privileges for international companies also place it on the grey list of the EU and the OECD, and it is at risk of losing touch in the international tax competition. You can find the details of the changes in our article series "Tax Proposal 17". On June 7, 2018, the Council of States, as the first chamber, considered the business and linked the proposal with the pension insurance, which would receive more funds as a result. This was hoped to gain wider acceptance for the proposal from both Parliament and the electorate. After reconciliation of differences between the National Council and the Council of States, the final vote on the adjusted proposal took place in both councils on September 28. In the Council of States, it was adopted with 39 to 4 votes (with 2 abstentions) and in the National Council with 112 to 67 votes (with 11 abstentions). Thus, the amendments can come into effect as decided by the Federal Council from January 1, 2020. However, various parties and interest groups have already announced a referendum. If the necessary 50,000 valid signatures are collected within 100 days, the referendum vote on the package will take place before the people on May 19, 2019.

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