Dear Madam or Sir,

We hope you are well and that you have been able to recharge during a summer break for the challenges of the current economic environment. Measures against COVID-19 have sped up developments in digitalization and new ways of working: working from home became the new normal for many, making it necessary to consider several tax issues, such as permanent establishment risks and social security. Cross-border contexts have proven particularly interesting in this regard. We have summarized all key tax topics relating to COVID-19 below.

Speaking of digitalization: electronic submission of VAT returns will be mandatory as of 1 January 2021.

VAT has seen a variety of new developments in 2020. Amongst them is the consultation regarding the Swiss VAT Act’s partial revision, which stays open until 12 October 2020. Further, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling regarding partial tax succession for VAT purposes. This has important implications for future and also past (!) asset deals. Finally, we would like to kindly remind you to submit your VAT reconciliation for 2019, which is due on 30 August 2020 for financial years closing on 31 December 2019.

As of 1 January 2021, a new withholding tax regulation for employment income enters into force. Payroll and individuals subject to withholding tax should address this issue early on to settle their withholding tax correctly.

We would like to draw your attention to two recent court decisions on Transfer Pricing, covered in this Tax Newsletter.

Last but not least, we have summarized the status and impact of the Swiss Tax Reform implementation in the cantons of Eastern Switzerland and the Romandie.

As always, these contributions and many others are available on our New Reality Blog. The blog offers facts, stories, insights, and personal opinions on tax and a broad range of other topics. For your convenience, we will consolidate the tax blog contributions and provide them to you in this newsletter on a regular basis. We look forward to continuing the dialogue with you.

Kind regards,

Daniel Gentsch

Managing Partner, Tax

EY Switzerland

1.  Caution when working from home beyond the border!

2.  Electronic submission of Swiss VAT returns mandatory from 1 January 2021 onwards

3.  New withholding tax regulation for employment income as of 2021

4.  VAT: Consultation opened for next partial revision of the Swiss VAT Act

5.  Co-sourcing: The changing Tax Function post COVID-19

6.  Don’t forget the VAT reconciliation for 2019!

7.  Financial volatility, losses and the role of capital – Transfer Pricing thoughts

8.  Mehrwertsteuer (MWST): Bundesgericht öffnet Tore für partielle Steuersukzessionen

9.  COVID-19 | OECD analysis of force majeure and impact on Swiss multinationals

10. COVID-19 | How to best benefit from VAT and Customs emergency measures and keep your business healthy

11. COVID-19 | Extension of judicial vacation over Easter

12. COVID-19 | Stimulus measures regarding Swiss VAT and customs

13. COVID-19 | Swiss relief measures around tax payments and deadlines

14. COVID-19 | The impact of cross-border movement – key observations

15. Why VAT is – or should be – a hot topic for FinTechs

16. Swiss Court Decision on Transfer Pricing II

17. Swiss Court Decision on Transfer Pricing I

18. New FinSA and FinIA regulations potentially impact VAT exemption

19. Swiss tax reform: Status of Eastern Swiss cantons

20. Swiss tax reform – impact on cantons in the Romandie

21. Swiss Federal Council approved TRAF ordinances

22. Swiss tax reform – Tax accounting implications of cantonal tax law changes