The two houses of Switzerland’s parliament have said that they are largely in agreement on the main points of the Government’s proposed changes to the corporation tax system.
On September 12, the National Council approved tax proposal 17 (TP17). The Council of States adopted a similar text on the proposals as the National Council, albeit with some differences.
The Federal Council has proposed the abolition of special arrangements for cantonal status companies, with the aim of ensuring such companies will pay more tax. This change is seen as crucial to avoid Switzerland being placed on the EU’s blacklist, as this regime is seen as harmful, enabling companies to benefit from significantly lower corporate income tax rates.
The package will also enable cantons to introduce patent box regimes, to offer companies concessionary tax treatment for income from intellectual property development undertaken in their canton.
Further, it is proposed that the package will include changes to Switzerland’s dividends tax rules, with the exact details yet to be finalized.
The proposals must now be discussed again by the Council of States so that the text of their two bills can be reconciled.
Source: Tax-News.com