3/18 project

Taxation in Switzerland

Switzerland person income Tax Individual income tax rates in Switzerland consist of Swiss federal, cantonal and communal taxes. While the maximum rate of federal tax rate is 11.5%, adding the cantonal and communal taxes the total tax burden on individuals change between 22.42% - 42.28% depending on canton.Other Taxes includes Income Taxes and property taxes.

Income Tax: Taxable income includes all funds accruing to a person from all sources, in principle without deduction of losses or expenses, and including the rental value of a house lived in by its owner. Non-working foreigners resident in Switzerland may choose to pay a "lump-sum tax" instead of the normal income tax. The tax, which is generally much lower than the normal income tax, is nominally levied on the taxpayer's living expenses, but in practice (which varies from canton to canton), it is common to use the quintuple of the rent paid by the taxpayer as a basis for the lump-sum taxation.^[18] This option contributes to Switzerland's status as a tax haven, and has induced many wealthy foreigners to live in Switzerland.

In 2011, the federal income tax varied from a bracket of 1% (for single tax payers) and 0.77% (for married taxpayers) to the maximum rate of 11.5%. Individuals earning below 13,600 and couples earning below 27,000 Swiss francs were exempt. On cantonal level, tax rates varies heavily,Obwalden adapted a 1.8% flat tax on all personal income following a cantonal referendum in 2007. In most cantons, the rate is proportional with a maximum rate of 6.5% in Bern, whereas in Zurich it was 13% and in Geneva 17.58-.76 %

Property Taxes: A proportional property tax of around 0.3 to 0.5 percents levied by the cantons on the net worth of natural persons. The tax is levied on the value of all assets (such as real estate, shares or funds) after the deduction of any debts

Profit Taxes: A proportional or progressive tax is levied by the Confederation (at a flat rate of 8.5%) and the cantons (at varying rates) on corporate profits. The tax is based on the net profit as accounted for in the corporate income statement, as adjusted for tax purposes. For instance, expenditures that have no business reason such as excessive depreciations, accruals or reserves, as well as disguised dividends are taxed as profits.

Capital Taxes: A proportional tax is levied by the cantons (at varying rates) on the ownership equity of companies. Thinly capitalised companies are taxed, moreover, on the liabilities that function as equity. This also means that debts paid on such liabilities cannot be deducted for purposes of the profit tax, and are subject to the federal withholding tax.

03/05/13 project

Da Switzerland

Government type

Switzerland features a system of government not seen in any other nation direct representation, sometimes called half-direct democracy.

Amendments of the Federal Constitution of Switzerland, the joining of international organizations or changes to federal laws that have no foundation in the constitution but if in force for more than one year must be approved by the majority of both the people and the canton.

Any citizen may challenge a law that has been passed by parliament. If that person is able to gather 50,000 signatures against the law within 100 days, a national vote has to be scheduled where voters decide by a simple majority of the voters whether to accept or reject the law.

Also, any citizen may seek a decision on an amendment they want to make to the constitution. For such an amendment initiative to be organised, the signatures of 100,000 voters must be collected within 18 months. Such a popular initiative is formulated as a precise new text (general proposal initiatives have been canceled in 2009 whose wording can no longer be changed by parliament and the government. After a successful signature gathering, the federal council may create a counterproposal to the proposed amendment and put it to vote on the same day as the original proposal. Such counter-proposals are usually a compromise between the status quo and the wording of the initiative. Voters will decide in a national vote whether to accept the initiative amendment, the counter proposal put forward by the government if any, or both. If both are accepted, one has to additionally signal a preference. Initiatives (that are of constitutional level) have to be accepted by a double majority of both the popular votes and a majority of the cantons, while counter-proposals may be of legislative level and hence require only simple majority.

Other information's

Swisscom AG is a major telecommunications provider in Switzerland. Along with Swiss Post, it is a successorcompany to the former state-owned PTT. Its headquarters are located at Worblaufen near Bern. The Swiss Confederation owns 56.94 percent of Swisscom

RUAG (originally Rüstungs Unternehmen Aktiengesellschaft; Joint Stock Defense Comapny) is a Swisstechnology company, with its headquarters in Bern. It has production sites in Switzerland , Germany , Sweden, Hungary  and Austria and USA , and sales companies in UK, France, Belgium, Brasil and Malaysia.

Skyguide is the air navigation service provider which manages and monitors Swiss airspace. Skyguide is a joint-stock company under Swiss private law which is responsible, on behalf of the Swiss Confederation, for ensuring the safety of all Swiss airspace and of adjoining airspace areas in Germany, Austria, France and Italy that have been delegated to its control. For Swiss airspace, this duty extends to both civil and military air navigation services. Skyguide is subject to the supervisory authority of the Swiss Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC). Its principal shareholder is the Swiss Confederation, which holds 99.91% of the company’s share capital.

Gun politics in Switzerland are unique in Europe. Switzerland does not have a standing army, instead opting for a people's militia for its national defense. The vast majority of men between the ages of 20 and 30 are conscripted into the militia and undergo military training, including weapons training. The personal weapons of the militia are kept at home as part of the military obligations; Switzerland thus has one of the highest militia gun ownership rates in the world. In recent times a minority of political opposition has expressed a desire for tighter gun regulations.