Taxes

Expenses can be charged with net amount (more cost-effective for customers, no profit for provider) or gross amount (more expensive for customers, covers provider's expenses). Both methods allow deduction of input tax, although final costs for customers differ.

Expenses must be recharged to customers at the value added tax rate of the service provided, regardless of the tax rate paid. Medical expenses directly associated with the service are not subject to value added tax.

Expenses such as travel costs are included in the value-added tax and must be billed on according to the respective valid tax rate. The article explains how to handle value-added tax and emphasizes that costs itemized separately are also subject to value-added tax.

Switzerland ranks 20th in the global comparison of tax systems and 7th in Europe, but still has potential for improvement, particularly through digitalization. According to the study "Paying Taxes 2019", the focus is on tax simplicity and increased efficiency through online platforms.

Depreciation by a corporation must be commercially justified; donations that do not serve the business purpose cannot be depreciated. In the case of a stock corporation that gave away a participation free of charge, this was confirmed by the Federal Court as not deductible.

Despite digitalization, expense receipts must be kept in paper form, which makes the expense process labor-intensive and prone to errors. An approved expense regulation simplifies this process and significantly reduces the administrative effort.

Taxpayers must submit their tax returns truthfully and on time, and provide additional documents upon request by the authority. If these obligations are not met, a discretionary assessment is made, which can only be contested in the case of obvious inaccuracies.

The Federal Court ruled that the subsequent demand for deferred property gains tax is inadmissible if the replacement property was initially used as a residence after the purchase. The Zurich regulation, which aimed at permanent use of the replacement property, was found to be contrary to federal law.

Wages and other income are taxed, capital gains are often tax-free, but the distinction is complex. In the federal court case, a payment was classified as taxable income because it counts as wages.