Sale of own shares - a service within the meaning of the VAT Act?
In its ruling 2C_891/2020 of 5 October 2021, the Federal Supreme Court upheld the Federal Administrative Court and decided, contrary to administrative practice, that the sale of treasury shares does not constitute a supply of services within the meaning of Art. 18 para. 1 VAT Act and is therefore outside the scope of application of VAT. This article is a brief analysis of the Federal Supreme Court's decision.
Relocation of businesses, functions and assets for profit tax purposes under VAT law
Within the framework of the STAF, a legal basis for the recording of cross-border inbound and outbound relocations of operations, functions and assets has been created at the federal, cantonal and municipal level. The question arises as to how such relocations should be treated for VAT purposes. The treatment is particularly relevant for inbound relocations in industries with a reduced input tax rate. As an outflow of the "dual entity" approach, relocations within the same legal entity between headquarters and permanent establishment are of interest.
Data as a value added tax payment?
In the course of ongoing digitisation, more and more business models are being established in which the user receives the service free of charge at first glance. However, a precise analysis shows that in order to do so, the user must provide user and usage data as well as content. This paper examines whether, from the point of view of Swiss VAT, such data qualifies qualitatively and quantitatively as a fee under Art. 3 lit. f and 24 para. 1 MWSTG and thus constitutes a taxable service.
The principle of investigation as a challenge to fully automated procedures
Since 1 January 2017, Germany has had the option of taxing without any human intervention, i.e. fully automatically. This is contrasted with the legislative project to introduce the possibility of fully automated assessment of customs duties, certain commercial transport taxes and the performance-related heavy vehicle tax in Switzerland. The article examines the possibilities and limits of full automation in largely standardized procedures.
.jpg)
.jpg)
"ESTV SuisseTax": Transfer to the federal "ePortal" platform
The services in FTA SuisseTax will be transferred to the federal platform "ePortal" according to the FTA's announcement of November 15, 2022.
FTA publishes draft of practice definition VAT: healthcare
The FTA posted an initial draft of the VAT practice on its website on October 6, 2022:
Adjustment of VAT Info 08 Private Shares
Sections 1.5.2 and 1.5.6 of the FTA's VAT Info 08 Private Share have been amended as a result of a change in practice on September 17, 2022. If the employee uses his private vehicle for business purposes and the company assumes the ongoing operating costs (but not the acquisition costs) as compensation, the private share of the assumed operating costs can be calculated at a flat rate of CHF 150 / month (incl. VAT).
Federal Council adopts dispatch on the total revision of the Customs Act
At its meeting on 24 August 2022, the Federal Council adopted the dispatch on the total revision of the Customs Act.
Federal Council opens consultation on the amendment of the VAT Act and the amendment of the VAT Ordinance
At its meeting on 29 June 2022, the Federal Council opened the consultation on the amendment of the VAT Act and the amendment of the Ordinance on the Business Identification Number. In the future, the STV will be able to automatically report to the Federal Statistical Office sole proprietorships without an entry in the commercial register but with a VAT turnover of at least CHF 100,000. This will make it easier for commercial register authorities to check entries.
Federal Council opens consultation on the amendment of the Value Added Tax Ordinance
At its meeting on June 29, 2022, the Federal Council opened the consultation on the amendment of the VAT Ordinance. In the future, registration and billing for value added tax (VAT) will be done electronically.
.jpg)
Update on value added tax
Workshop by Roger Rohner and Ralf Imstepf on the occasion of the ISIS) seminar on June 3 - 4, 2024 entitled "Update on VAT"
VAT pitfalls with trusts and foundations
Workshop on "VAT pitfalls with trusts and foundations" by Isabelle Homberger Gut on the occasion of the ISIS seminar "Structuring private wealth by means of trusts or foundations" on October 31, 2023.
