FOREIGN OWNERS IN CANADA MUST REGISTER TO PAY A NEW TAX ON “UNDERUSED” PROPERTY   Most foreign individuals, companies and other entities that own residential properties in Canada must now file a return even if no tax is due. This is one of the requirements of the new “Underused Housing Tax Act” (“UHT”) effective for the...Read More

Swiss safe haven intercompany interest rates for 2023 announced by SFTA   The Swiss Federal Tax Administration (#SFTA) has published the safe haven interest rates applicable for the year 2023 in its updated annual circular letters No. 203 and 204. The rates are for loans in #Swiss #Francs (CHF) and in foreign #currencies to and...Read More

Large Swiss companies will have to submit climate reports from 2024   A “green” breakthrough for large Swiss companies: starting from 2024 they will have to submit climate impact reports. The innovation is contained in the implementing ordinance adopted by the Federal Council in late 2022. The ordinance requires large Swiss companies to implement in...Read More

ECOFIN PUTS RUSSIA AND BVI ON BLACKLIST   The blacklist of tax havens continues to grow. At its meeting on 14 February, the Economic and Financial Council of the European Union (also known as Ecofin) added Russia, the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica and the Marshall Islands to the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax...Read More

ATAD 3 AND SWISS HOLDING COMPANIES While the European Union’s implementation of ATAD 3 will not directly affect Swiss entities, it might as a matter of fact make Swiss holding companies more attractive for international corporations and wealthy individuals. STATUS QUO The latest amendments to the European Commission’s draft directive for preventing the misuse of...Read More

WITHHOLDING TAX: AMENDMENTS TO THE NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE Good news for Swiss groups and holdings with subsidiaries in Switzerland regarding withholding tax. As of January 1, 2023, changes related to the Ordinance of May 4, 2022 (“RU 2022 307”) on the notification procedure within a group for withholding tax purposes will take effect. The notification procedure...Read More

INDIVIDUAL TAXATION IN SWITZERLAND: CONSULTATION BEGINS On Dec. 2, the Federal Council launched the consultation procedure on the reform that aims to introduce an “individual taxation” of every taxpayer, even if married. The consultation will end on March 16, 2023. The legislative process was initiated by the Federal Council as a counterproposal to the popular...Read More

TAX RESIDENCY IN THE EMIRATES: A FIRST LAW TO PROVIDE CLARITY For the first time, tax residency in the United Arab Emirates has being regulated at a legal level. Thanks to “Cabinet Resolution No. 85” of 2022, the local government has brought clarity by enacting a new domestic regulation that aims to clarify of when...Read More

Hong Kong foreign-sourced income will soon be taxed 2023 could represent a watershed for Hong Kong’s corporate taxation. The Inland Revenue Amendment Bill 2022 (about Taxation on Specified Foreign-sourced Income), gazetted on 28 October 2002, is now under scrutiny by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and is expected to come into force in 2023,...Read More

The new frontier of transparency in the USA – Trusts in the context of FinCEN’s Final Rule Regardless the steps traditionally taken by the United States of America in order to meet the highest international standards in terms of safeguards designed to prevent the flow of illicit money and contrast illicit activities, including money laundering,...Read More

The Netherlands introduces UBO register from 1° November 2022 The Netherlands has decided to speed up the process of the introduction of a beneficial ownership register for trusts, which will be introduced in the Country as of 1 November 2022. This is a new register, separate from the others, which will be added to the...Read More

VAT increases to support retirement benefits Swiss citizens, called last September 25 to vote on four federal topics, decided to approve two substantial changes affecting the OASI (“AVS”). In addition to choosing an increase in the retirement age for women from 64 to 65 – thereby equalizing it with that of men – it was...Read More

US FinCEN Issues Final Rule for Beneficial Ownership Reporting On 29th September 2022, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has issued a final rule, as required by the Corporate Transparency Act 2019, establishing an information-reporting regime for beneficial ownership. The rule will come into force on January 1 2024, with...Read More

Companies House launched the UK register of overseas entities On 1 August 2022, Companies House launched the UK register of overseas entities (ROE), which is a key provision of the Economic Crime (Transparency & Enforcement) Act 2022 (Act). The Act requires overseas entities that own or acquire property in the UK to register with Companies...Read More

Switzerland will implement OECD’s minimum tax rate On 23rd June 2022, the Swiss Federal Council published the amendments to the constitution to implement a minimum tax rate for certain companies recently agreed by the OECD and G20 member states. In fact, in October 2021, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published key parameters...Read More

UK’s Registrar of Companies to be granted more powers On May 10 2022, the Queen’s Speech presented to parliament the proposal of a new Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill. Discussion over this draft Bill firstly emerged when in February 2022 the register of overseas entities was introduced to the UK parliament. The Bill is...Read More

Switzerland prepares to ratify the Hague Convention on the choice of court agreements In the meeting of March 30, 2022, the Federal Council opened a consultation (which will end on July 7, 2022) in relation to the Federal Decree that would acknowledge Switzerland’s ratification of the Hague Convention on choice of court agreements. The Convention...Read More

New Zealand introduces minimum standards for financial reporting of trusts At the beginning of March, the New Zealand Government introduced a series of more stringent disclosure requirements for taxable domestic trusts. At the beginning of March, the New Zealand Government introduced a series of more stringent disclosure requirements for taxable domestic trusts. For income years...Read More

BO reporting begins in Mexico With the Economic Package for 2022 (Paquete Económico para 2022) Mexico decided to increase its compliance with international reporting standards, with particular reference to automatic exchange of information (AEOI). In fact, as of 1 January 2022, companies, trusts, partnerships and other legal entities have to gather and retain accurate and...Read More

Minimum substance test under EU shell company directive In December 2021, the European Commission (EC) published its draft Council Directive, amending Directive 2011/16/EU (the Directive) and setting out the rules to prevent the misuse of shell entities for tax purposes. The EC has observed that certain individuals and some businesses direct their income to shell...Read More

US treasury publishes draft beneficial ownership reporting rule to tackle the use of shell companies The US Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has published a draft rule which will implement the beneficial ownership information reporting provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The Act requires beneficial ownership reporting by domestic and...Read More

The Federal Council initiates consultation on automatic exchange of information with twelve more partner states On 3 December 2021, the Federal Council initiated the consultation on the introduction of the automatic exchange of financial account information (AEOI) with twelve additional states and territories. The AEOI is scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2023,...Read More

DTA amendment in the pipeline for Russia and Switzerland Following Russia’s recent request to revise the existing double taxation agreement (DTA) with Switzerland, the two Countries’ finance ministers have held a meeting to initiate discussion upon the matter. Starting from 2020, Russia has renegotiated a number of DTTs (as with Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus), increasing...Read More

Switzerland is consulting on AML Ordinance amendments Switzerland’s federal government has published draft amendments to the Anti-Money Laundering Ordinance (the Ordinance), which aim to implement the measures in the revised Anti-Money Laundering Act (the Act). The Act introduces most of the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF’s) 2016 recommendations for Swiss anti-money laundering (AML) reform, including...Read More

FINMA encourages trustees and portfolio managers to submit licence applications as soon as possible The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority revealed that as of today only 180 out of around 2,400 portfolio managers and trustees have submitted a licence application required by the Financial Institutions Act (FinIA), which entered into force in January 2020. The...Read More

The Swiss FDEA releases data on lump-sum taxation The Contribution Division of the Federal department of Economic Affairs (FDEA) has released data  relating to those individuals that have chosen taxation according to worldwide living expenditure (also called lump-sum or global taxation) in Canton Ticino. This survey, carried out every two years, monitors the number of...Read More

Brazil issues the decree implementing the double taxation agreement with Switzerland On 9 June 2021, the Brazilian Government issued Decree No. 10,714/2, which concludes the ratification process of the double taxation treaty between Brazil and Switzerland. The new DTA, which will come into force from 1 January 2022, promotes economic relations between Brazil and Switzerland....Read More

Switzerland announces new succession law from 2023 At its meeting on 19 May 2021, the Federal Council decided to set the date for the implementation of the revision of Swiss succession law on 1 January 2023. The reform will alter substantially Switzerland’s forced-heirship laws, adapting it to the evolution of society and allowing for more...Read More

EU to re-assess tax information exchange agreements The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) asked EU Member States to re-assess their tax information exchange agreements (TIEA) with third countries in order to evaluate their compliance with taxpayers’ privacy rights and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This request follows concerns raised in Austria, France, Luxembourg and...Read More

IMF praises Switzerland’s response to the Covid-19 Pandemic Despite the difficulties posed by the Covid-19 Pandemic, Switzerland’s GDP, according to the latest data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is expected to grow 3.5% in 2021 and 2.8% in 2022. This thanks to its solid domestic economies, with particular reference to the competitiveness of its...Read More

DAC7 will require digital platforms to be more transparent EU Member States have recently amended the Directive on administrative cooperation in taxation. Such amendments will need to be adopted by 31 December 2022, and will enter into force starting 1 January 2023. Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 of 22 March 2021 (DAC7) extends automatic exchange of...Read More

Brazil ratifies DTA with Switzerland On 24 February 2021, the Brazilian Senate passed Bills Nos. 203, 650, and 667, to ratify the protocol for the elimination of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion and avoidance between Brazil and Switzerland, Singapore and the UAE. Switzerland and Brazil had already signed the agreement in May...Read More

Switzerland: the canton of residence of the heirs will be responsible for the collection of inheritance tax The Federal Council, in the meeting of February 3, 2021, amended the ordinance on withholding tax, establishing that from January 1, 2022 the heirs will have to seek the refund of the withholding tax on income from succession...Read More

The UK seeks legislative freedom by withdrawing from DAC6’s disclosure provisions Following Brexit, the UK government has decided not to proceed with the implementation of the EU’s Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 (DAC6), which involves mandatory disclosure of cross-border tax planning schemes. With the new free trade agreement signed by the UK with the EU, both...Read More

EU remedies to the inefficiencies of its blacklisting system for tax havens The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) recently adopted a resolution introducing changes in the system used to draw up the EU list of tax havens, which up to date was “confusing and ineffective”. The 2017’s list of tax havens drawn up by...Read More

US asks Switzerland to disclose FATCA non-compliers’ account details On December 1, the Swiss Fedral Tax Administration (SFTA) acting on behalf of the American Internal Revenue Service (IRS), asked twelve Swiss banks and one fiduciary to provide data on certain of their American account-holders, as required by the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The...Read More

FINMA to issue revised circular on “Video and online identification” Four years on from the publication of the circular on “Video and online identification” 2016/7, The Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA) is re-evaluating the regulation’s purposefulness in order to take into account the most recent technological advancements. The goal is to align the norm...Read More

Switzerland implements national strategy against cyber-risks The Federal Council Cyber Committee recently adopted the 2018-2022 report on the progress made in implementing the national strategy for the protection of Switzerland against cyber-risks (NCS). The  NCS specifies the strategic goals for protecting against cyber-risks and it covers the current implementation status of the plan.  As of...Read More

AEOI: The Swiss Federal Council adopts new Ordinance Following the assessment of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes on the implementation in Switzerland of the standard for the international automatic exchange of information in tax matters (AEOI standard), on November 11 2020, the Swiss Federal Council approved the amended...Read More

Ombudsman affiliation requirement: new limitations On 25 September 2020, Parliament adopted the Federal Act on the Adaptation of Federal Law to Developments in Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT bill), with the aim to keep Switzerland a leading, innovative and sustainable location in the blockchain and DLT sector. As part of the parliamentary deliberations on the DLT,...Read More

FINMA issuing regulation implementing FinSA and FinIA The Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) recently held a consultation with the aim to issue regulation implementing the Financial Services Act FinSA and the Financial Institutions Act FinIA. The consultation’s outcome is the following: FINMA will make adjustments to the existing ordinances and circulars; It will issue a...Read More

AML at the centre of FATF’s new exploratory projects The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has initiated new exploratory projects which will take the form of questionnaires, seeking solutions and best practices in response to the increasing risk of money laundering in the technological sector. The first study is called “Opportunities and Challenges of New...Read More

End of preparatory works for FinIA and FinSA The Federal Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) has conferred upon the Swiss Supervisory Limited Company AOOS the authorization as a fifth supervisory organisations (SO), also recognizing it as a self-regulatory organization (SRO) under the Anti Money Laundering Act (AMLA). The set-up phase involving the institutional prerequisites for...Read More

Swiss Parliament approves final draft of New Data Protection Act On 25 September 2020, the Swiss Parliament approved the final draft of the revised Data Protection Act (rev-DPA), with the aim to modernise its data protection laws and align it to the latest EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The rev-DPA could still be subject...Read More

Outlook after the Swiss tax reform: Zug defends top spot Credit Suisse has announced the release of its Locational Quality Indicator annual study for 2020 that looks into the locational quality of Swiss cantons and regions. The annual Locational Quality Indicator (LQI) was developed in order to measure the attractiveness of the Swiss regions and...Read More

FINcontrol Suisse is the fourth supervisory body authorised by FINMA On September 29, 2020, the Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) granted the authorization to FINcontrol Suisse SA to operate as a supervisory organisation in the regulatory framework of FinIA and FinSA. The company is based in Zug and is the fourth authorised body, following the...Read More

The Swiss Parliament revises law on stock corporations On June 19, 2020, the Swiss Parliament approved the revision of the Swiss law on stock corporations (Company Law), which aimed at introducing simplifications (such as new provisions for the use of technology in support of general meetings) while allowing for greater flexibility and protection of specific...Read More

Switzerland declares Privacy Shield with USA non-compliant In light of the recent case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the protection of personal data in the context of the Privacy Shield between the US and the EU, Switzerland has been reassessing the conformity of the Privacy Shield to the Federal Act on...Read More

Taxes payable by cryptocurrency make Switzerland a leader in the implementation of crypto assets Thanks to its collaboration with Bitcoin Swiss, Canton Zug announced that it will accept tax payments by Bitcoin and Ether (for both companies and private individuals) up to an amount of CHF 100.000, starting from February 2021, becoming the first Swiss...Read More

Blockchain and distributed ledger technology: no repercussions for tax law Berna, 19.06.2020 – Nella sua seduta del 19 giugno 2020 il Consiglio federale ha preso atto del rapporto relativo a un’eventuale necessità di adeguamento della legislazione fiscale nel settore della blockchain. Il rapporto conclude che non occorre apportare particolari modifiche alla legislazione fiscale. L’ordinamento giuridico...Read More