zsis) - Center for Swiss and International Tax Law

Editorial on the focus issue "Withholding Tax" of zsis).

With its dispatch of April 2021 on the reform of the withholding tax, the Federal Council is making a new attempt to strengthen the domestic debt capital market. The bill is economically necessary and suitable for finding a pragmatic solution that is acceptable to the majority. Parliamentary consultations have already begun.

In terms of withholding tax, we focus on withholding tax on the income from equity securities. In particular, pecuniary benefits occupy us and often lead to emotionally profound experiences and contacts with withholding tax. Similarly, we constantly deal with the question of the refund of withholding tax owed, including the issue of "How can I repatriate profit reserves subject to withholding tax abroad?

The withholding tax reform bill introduced with the Federal Council Dispatch published on 14 April 2021 aims to largely abolish withholding tax on interest income and, as an accompanying measure, to abolish the turnover tax on Swiss bonds. In this context, implementation issues at the banks and financial institutions, the effects of the reform on structured products and group financing, the treatment of substitute payments in securities lending/borrowing transactions and indirect interest investments are examined in greater detail.

The refund of withholding tax on dividends from Swiss companies by foreign shareholders can only be made on the basis of a double taxation agreement between Switzerland and the country of residence of the claimant. In order to claim relief from withholding tax under the applicable double taxation treaty, the residence of the claimant must be confirmed by the foreign tax authorities.

The problem of old reserves has become an integral part of daily tax consulting practice in Switzerland. The corresponding problem will be examined in this article on the basis of a transfer of the registered office of a foreign company to Switzerland. Here, too, the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) initially assumed that the "old reserves" brought into Switzerland were subject to Swiss abuse practice without restriction.

The withholding tax is a self-declaration tax: The taxpayer is responsible for declaring the withholding tax and fulfilling his tax liability. In contrast to the mixed assessment procedure, the procedure is not characterised by the cooperation of tax authorities and taxpayers. The responsibility for the payment of the withholding tax, including the determination of the assessment basis, lies solely with the taxpayer.

"After the game" - the levying of withholding tax in a control pursuant to Art. 40 ITA - "is before the game", the (offsetting) criminal tax proceedings. This is the short form of the development observed in the recent past, according to which the subsequent levying of withholding tax on pecuniary benefits not spontaneously settled by the taxable company in the control procedure is often followed by criminal tax proceedings. Since the taxable companies and their bodies are usually of the opinion that the matter is settled with the payment of the withholding tax, they are not prepared for the initiation of the criminal proceedings, and are even taken by surprise by them. However, this can have the consequence for the persons concerned that they have provided the evidence necessary for their conviction in the criminal proceedings without being aware of it. This article presents the main features of the criminal law on withholding tax and the criminal proceedings. It focuses on monetary benefits that are not spontaneously settled and shows who can be held criminally liable, what requirements must be met and what approaches exist to avert or reduce penalties.