zsis) - Center for Swiss and International Tax Law

Tax evasion and withholding tax

Whether a tax evasion has been committed negligently or intentionally has a decisive influence on the possibilities of refunding withholding taxes. With a view to a case study, this article discusses the points of contact between tax evasion in the case of direct taxes and the questions concerning the refund of withholding taxes under Art. 23 ITA.

Accounting in criminal tax law

While the annual financial statement that complies with commercial law is decisive for taxation in accordance with the law, criminal tax law is linked to the annual financial statement that does not comply with commercial law. Since Swiss criminal tax law lacks an overall concept and the criminal tax provisions are contained in the individual tax laws, the prosecution of which is incumbent on different authorities, the use of accounting that contains irregularities can lead to a multitude of non-coordinated criminal tax proceedings and tax penalties.

Tax offences as predicate offences to money laundering - Key takeaways for practitioners

Art. 305bis(1bis) of the Swiss Criminal Code entered into force on 1 January 2016, introducing aggravated tax misdemeanours as predicate offences to money laundering. Though highly debated at the time of its introduction, courts have been noticeably quiet on this provision in the years that followed. This article will analyse the developments since its adoption, outline the legal questions remaining open and forecast what the future may hold for this provision.

Reform of the withholding tax - can the Gordian knot be untangled?

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.