Jurisdictions

The increasing use of new technologies and IT systems creates numerous advantages, but also dangers. Due to global networking and the high data density that technical progress brings with it, any financial intermediary can become a potential target for cybercrime. The FMA therefore attaches great importance to the topic of…

The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA has published the amended circular “Public deposits with non-banks”. Changes made to the circular define more clearly the new FinTech regulations on sandboxes and the extended timeframe for settlement accounts introduced by the Federal Council. The circular enters into force on 1 January…

The Financial Market Supervisory Authority FINMA has observed a marked increase in initial coin offerings (ICOs) conducted in Switzerland. It has today therefore issued FINMA Guidance 04/2017 on this topic. FINMA has also indicated that it is investigating a number of ICO cases to determine whether regulatory provisions have been…

The individual who manages intellectual property rights for music groups including the Rolling Stones and U2 has denied that corporate structures were set up in the Netherlands to avoid tax in recent parliamentary testimony. On June 12, Jan Favie, a director of Promogroup B.V. and U2 Ltd, the companies which…

The Swiss Federal Council has asked the Federal Department of Finance to prepare a consultation on a draft tax reform package by September. Earlier this month, the steering body tasked with drawing up “tax proposal 17” (TP17) published its recommendations. The Council said that it largely took on board the…

Switzerland has explained how it will amend its double tax agreements after it signed the OECD’s new multilateral tax compact to implement anti-base erosion and profit shifting measures. On June 7, Switzerland was one of 76 countries and jurisdictions to sign or express their intention to sign the Multilateral Convention…

Changes to Switzerland’s Value Added Tax (VAT) Act will enter into force on January 1, 2018, with the aim of removing VAT-related competitive disadvantages for domestic companies. Currently, a multinational company pays only VAT on its Swiss turnover. Foreign companies providing services in Switzerland do not have to pay VAT…

Swiss voters have rejected a plan to reform the country’s corporate tax system, sending the government back to the drawing board. Business and political circles in Switzerland had supported the plan, which was designed to prevent taxes rising sharply for foreign investors. However, 59% of voters opposed the plan in…

The revised double tax avoidance agreement between India and Cyprus will take effect from April 1, 2017, India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes has announced. According to the CBDT, both countries have now exchanged notifications informing the other of the completion of their respective ratification procedures for the revised agreement…