On 18 June 2023, the Swiss people voted in favor of implementing the global minimum tax in Switzerland. The Federal Council is now empowered to adopt respective GloBE rules and the domestic top-up tax within an implementation ordinance.
Background
Switzerland is in the process of implementing the global minimum taxation (Pillar Two) agreed by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework. To do so, Switzerland’s constitution needs to be amended, as explained here.
Latest update
On Sunday, 18 June 2023, the Swiss public voted in favor of an amendment of the constitution including temporary arrangements with basic parameters that empower the government to release the respective (temporary) implementing ordinance. How the government intends to issue such an ordinance was specified in May 2023 in an amended draft of the implementation ordinance. For further information in this regard see our previous blog article.
Next steps
With acceptance from the public vote, the Federal Council can now go ahead and implement minimum taxation in Switzerland.
The domestic top-up tax and the income inclusion rule (IIR) are expected to be introduced in Switzerland for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2024 (or even 31 December 2023 to be in line with the EU). The date for the introduction of the undertaxed profits rule (UTPR) is likely to be different, following international developments. It is becoming apparent that the UTPR will be introduced by a large number of states, in particular in the EU, at a later point in time. It is anticipated that the UTPR will be introduced for business years beginning on or after 1 January 2025 (or 31 December 2024) as provided for by many states.
Considering the timeline and progress so far, companies should continue to analyze how and to what extent minimum taxation affects them. In particular, it is important to ensure that they can provide the respective data for declarations.
We continue to follow Pillar Two developments in Switzerland closely and will share our take on implementation as it progresses.
