TRAF: Federal Council approves final ordinances TRAF: Federal Council approves final ordinances

The federal law on the tax reform and AHV financing (TRAF) enters into force as of 1 January 2020 (read my blog for further information). Various (new and to be amended) ordinances to implement the tax reform have only been available in a draft version in the course of a consultation procedure so far.

On 13 November 2019 the Swiss Federal Council has approved the respective ordinances and their entry into force as of 1 January 2020. The ordinances are available under the following link. 

The following three ordinances have been published:

• Ordinance on the reduced taxation of profits from patents and similar rights (Patent box ordinance)
• Ordinance on the tax relevant deduction on equity financing of legal persons (notional interest deduction)
• Amendment of the ordinance on the lump sum tax credit (new: ordinance on the credit of foreign withholding taxes)

As these three ordinances have basically been accepted within the consultation procedure, the Federal Council has only implemented minor amendments compared to the draft versions.

Hence, concerned companies can continue with the tax reform implementation work – started based on the draft ordinances. Should taxpayers have not yet dealt with the ordinances, it is recommended to analyse their effect now.