Restructurations immobilières : sélections de cas pratiques

Cas 1 : Transformation de RI en SA - Notion d'exploitation immobilière

1. state of affairs

Mrs. Baud, head of a banking establishment, received, in 2003, in the succession of her father, a teacher, a property in Geneva on the banks of the lake, comprising both commercial and residential apartments.

In 1998, he acquired the shares of the Chantemerle company (then owner of the property) and proceeded to liquidate the SI on 10 June 2003, a short time before his death. At the time of the succession, the hypothecary endowment of the property was 30%.

In 2018, Mrs. Baud decided to improve the profitability of her property, which had not been the subject of renovation work for over 40 years. To this end, it is undertaking work over a period of more than 4 years, financed at 100% by a mortgage loan. By 31.12.2022, the total endowment will be 75%.

The work is important, the buildings are being renovated and new buildings are being completed at the end of the work, with a major increase in the amount of money owed. This has resulted in an increase in the value of the property, which has now risen to CHF 2,000,000.

Le conseiller fiscal de Mme Baud la convainc de détenir son immeuble par le biais d'une société (ci-après : la"SI") afin de pouvoir optimiser sa fiscalité.

Questions

• Quelle est la qualification de l'immeuble ?
• According to the fiscal qualification, what are the consequences of transferring the property to an SI?

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Cas 2 : Transformation de RI en SA - Notion d'exploitation commerciale

1. state of affairs

In 2003, Mrs. Müller received a donation from her father for a property in Geneva comprising both commercial and residential apartments.

In 2016, Mrs. Müller decided to use the Airbnb platform to rent certain apartments and improve the profitability of her property.

Considérant que cette form de location est nettement plus rentable, elle décide, dès la fin de l'année 2018, de procéder à la rénovation desdits logements et entame d'importants travaux financés entièrement par des fonds étrangers. At the end of the 4 years of work, all of the apartments will be rented on the Airbnb platform.

Variant

Même état de fait.

However, Ms. Müller, who no longer wishes to pay commission to the Airbnb platform, has set up a company, Sweet, in which she holds 100% of the share capital and is responsible for (i) commercializing the location of the apartments, (ii) providing additional services such as net cleaning, hotel services limited to a snack service and a small restaurant in the room.

Le conseiller fiscal de Mme Müller la convainc de détenir son immeuble par le biais d'une société (ci-après : la"SI") afin de pouvoir optimiser sa fiscalité, i.e. en diminuant la fiscalité de rendements immobiliers (non distribués) et afin de bénéficier pleinement du bouclier fiscal.

Questions

• Quelle est la qualification de l'immeuble ?
• According to the fiscal qualification, what are the consequences of transferring the property to an anonymous company?

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Cas 3 : Apport / vente à une société immobilière

1. state of affairs

M. Arnaud, resident of the canton of Vaud, is the owner of a property in the canton of Vaud which he holds as part of his private fortune. He acquired this property over 25 years ago for CHF 1,000,000. In January 2025, he intends to dispose of this property indirectly through a société à constituer. La société est constituée avec un capital-actions de CHF 100'000.- libéré par l'apport, le solde du montant constituant un agio de CHF 2'900'000.-, l'immeuble étant valorisé à CHF 3'000'000.- au moment de l'apport (valeur expertisée comme étant la valeur de marché).

Question

• Quid en cas d'apport de l'immeuble ?

Variant 1 :

M. Arnaud constitue d'abord la société pour CHF 100'000.- libérée en cash et apporte ensuite l'immeuble sis dans le canton de Vaud en faisant un " apport à fonds perdus " comptabilisé au compte " Autres réserves ". The notarized transfer contract provides for a price of CHF 3,000,000 for the property, the entirety of which is credited to "Other reserves". Quid?

Variant 2 :

Après avoir fait fait expertiser son immeuble à une valeur de CHF 3'000'000.-, M. Arnaud conclut un acte notarié prévoyant l'apport de l'immeuble pour CHF 1'000'000.- dans le cadre de la constitution de la société. L'apport est fait en échange de la création d'un capital-actions de CHF 1'000'000.-.

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Cas 4 : Apport / vente d'une société immobilière

1. state of affairs

Il s'agit de la suite du cas pratique n°3 ci-dessus, sauf que cette fois-ci, l'immeuble de M. Arnaud est situé dans le canton de Genève et M. Arnaud est résident genevois.

After having transferred his property located in the canton of Geneva to his company, the company ASA, also based in Geneva, Mr. Arnaud decided to transfer this property to an existing company of which he is 100% shareholder and which is active in the production of high-end audio systems (Hi-Fi SA, Geneva). Mr. Arnaud holds the shares of ASA and Hi-Fi SA.

Les comptes de ASA se présentent comme suit au moment de l'apport à Hi-Fi SA :

La valeur d'acquisition de l'immeuble par ASA était de CHF 3'000'000.-.

Les comptes de Hi-Fi SA se présentent comme suit au moment de l'apport de ASA:

Les actions de la SI ASA sont vendues par M. Arnaud à Hi-Fi SA pour CHF6'200'000.- après une période de détention de 2 ans des titres de ASA. Le prix de vente est comptabilisé comme crédit-vendeur en faveur de M. Arnaud. Les comptes de Hi-Fi SA post-acquisition se présentent dès lors comme suit:

Questions

Quid de la vente des actions de ASA pour CHF 6'200'000.- ?

Variant 1 :

Quid de la vente des actions ASA à leur valeur nominale y compris l'agio (avec crédit-vendeur correspondant au passif de Hi-Fi SA) ?

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Cas 5 : Restructuration portant sur des actions d'une SCI française

1. state of affairs

Mrs. Marchand, of French nationality, has been based in Geneva for over 20 years. However, she has maintained a second residence in Provence which she holds through a French civil society, SCI les Vents.

Mrs. Marchand did not opt for the fiscal regime of the sociétés de capitaux s'agissant de la SCI les Vents. As a result, the SCI is considered to be translucent under French law.

The value of the SCI is EUR 2,000,000. During the months in which she does not stay there, she lets this property to her friends and family, which generates an annual income of EUR 60,000 for SCI. No amount is accounted for by SCI for the occupation of the property by Mrs. Marchand.

Mrs. Marchand has declared and is exempt in France from the tax on real estate assets in France (ci-après :"IFI"), respectively from the tax on income relating to returns realized by SCI. In addition, the annual income is always credited to Mrs. Marchand's current account.

She is currently considering transferring her shares to her children who are domiciled in Switzerland. However, she wishes to avoid the rights of donation in France. To this end, on the advice of her tax advisor, her children set up a new company based in Switzerland which they sold; this company acquired the shares of SCI. The acquisition was financed by means of a loan granted by Mrs. Marchand to the new company.

Questions

• Comment sont traitées les actions de la SCI les Vents, du point de vue fiscal suisse ?
• What are the consequences, from a Swiss fiscal point of view, of the planned restructuring?