On November 22, 2023, the Swiss Federal Council adopted the dispatch on the approval and implementation of an additional agreement supplementing the country’s tax treaty with France.Continue Reading
Switzerland
Transfer pricing news, BEPS news, and international tax news in Switzerland
Indian Supreme Court urged to review MFN tax ruling
A review petition has been filed in the controversial most-favored-nation (MFN) judgment delivered by the Indian Supreme Court last month.Continue Reading
Germany to update tax treaties with Austria, Switzerland
Germany has signed protocols to amend its tax treaties with Austria and Switzerland.Continue Reading
Global minimum tax to bring USD 600 million to Switzerland
The global minimum tax is expected to bring over USD 600 million to Swiss cantons, according to a report by the Swiss Federal Department of Finance.Continue Reading
Swiss tax administration appoints next Director
The Swiss Federal Council has appointed Tamara Pfammatter as the new Director of the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) with effect from April 1, 2023.
Pfammatter, who will succeed Adrian Hug, is currently an ambassador and a member of management at the State Secretariat for International Finance (SIF). As the Head of the Tax Division, she is responsible for Switzerland’s international tax dossiers and for the multilateral negotiations in the OECD’s project on taxing the global economy.
For over a year prior to her current post, she was deputy divisional head in the Tax Division and divisional head in the Corporate Taxation Policy Division at SIF. From 2009 to 2020, she worked as a project leader in the Tax Policy Division of the FTA.
Inter IKEA Group paid less corporate income tax in 2022
The amount of corporate income taxes paid by Inter IKEA Group decreased to EUR 322 million (EUR 398 million in the 2021 financial year). However, the total tax contribution increased slightly to EUR 1,996 million (EUR 1,916 million in the 2021 financial year).Continue Reading
Swiss Federal Council approves tax treaty with Bahrain
The new tax treaty implements the minimum standards in accordance with the OECD’s project on base erosion and profit shifting. Continue Reading
Raoul Stocker joins Bär & Karrer as Partner
Leading Swiss law firm Bär & Karrer has hired Raoul Stocker as a tax partner.
Raoul has 10 years of experience as a partner in tax law and is an honorary professor of tax law at the University of St. Gallen and director of the Institute of Finance and Fiscal Law.
Daniel Hochstrasser, senior partner, commented: “He will support our tax team in corporate tax law, dispute resolution in national and international tax law, as well as transfer pricing. His legal expertise and know-how will help us continue to grow our offering for our clients.”
Switzerland amending tax treaties with New Zealand, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden
The protocols contain an anti-abuse clause.Continue Reading
Glencore wins $92m transfer pricing dispute with ATO
The tax authority is considering whether to appeal the decision.Continue Reading
Canada, Switzerland ratify instrument to tackle tax avoidance
The BEPS MLI will enter into force in both countries on December 1, 2019.Continue Reading
Chris Whitehouse joins Questro’s transfer pricing practice
Transfer pricing advisory Questro International has hired Chris Whitehouse as a transfer pricing partner for its Zurich office.
New Swiss-Ukraine tax treaty protocol signed
The treaty protocol provides for a low withholding tax rate of five percent for royalty and interest payments. An arbitration clause is also included to increase legal certainty for taxpayers.Continue Reading
Manuel Koch joins transfer pricing specialist Questro’s Stuttgart office
Transfer pricing specialist Questro International has hired Manuel Koch as a Partner for the firm’s office in Stuttgart, Germany.
Koch brings significant experience of over ten years specialization in transfer pricing consulting. Koch has wide experience in international tax planning engagements for international corporates including holding and principal structures as well as Swiss finance branches and IP boxes.Continue Reading
New EU corporate tax avoidance rules enter into force
The new anti-abuse measures entered into force on January 1, 2019.Continue Reading
New tax treaty between Switzerland, Pakistan effective from January 2019
An arbitration clause is included in the new tax treaty to resolve double taxation disputes.Continue Reading
Switzerland Expands Country List for Exchange of CbC Reports
The Swiss Federal Council on October 17 decided to expand the list of countries with which Switzerland would exchange country-by-country (CbC) reports.
The legal basis for the exchange of CbC reports entered into force for Switzerland on December 1, 2017. Switzerland had then submitted to the OECD a list of 108 countries with which the Government will exchange CbC reports.Continue Reading
Mutual Agreement Procedure Statistics Published for 2017
The OECD on October 10 published its 2017 mutual agreement procedure (MAP) statistics covering 85 tax jurisdictions.
According to the 2017 MAP statistics, new transfer pricing MAP cases are up by 25 percent and other MAP cases by 50 percent. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the increase in new MAP cases is due to a range of factors including the effects of the new reporting framework and increased awareness of and expectations from taxpayers about MAP, the OECD noted.Continue Reading
Switzerland-Latvia Tax Treaty to Contain Arbitration Clause
The protocol to amend the Switzerland-Latvia tax treaty entered into force on September 3, 2018, and will take effect from January 1, 2019. Continue Reading
Swiss, UK Tax Treaty to Include BEPS Minimum Standards
The Swiss Federal Council on August 22 adopted the dispatch concerning a protocol of amendment to the Swiss-UK tax treaty for the attention of Parliament.Continue Reading
Switzerland Adopts Dispatch on BEPS Convention
The author is Alex Hunter, Editor, TP News. He oversees and updates the publication and also regularly writes news stories about transfer pricing and international tax law. Alex is reachable on email (editor@transferpricingnews.com) and by phone (+447808558597).
The Swiss Federal Council on Wednesday adopted the dispatch on the OECD’s Multilateral Convention to implement tax treaty-related base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) measures.Continue Reading
Tax Treaty between Switzerland, Saudi Arabia to Enter Into Force
The Swiss Federal Council on August 15 adopted the dispatch on the tax treaty with Saudi Arabia.Continue Reading