Tax Blog
Stay up to date with the latest tax issues and developments that may affect you and your business.
Join the upcoming webinar on Swiss global mobility developments around COVID-19 - April 2020
Register and join our Swiss focused webinar - 'COVID-19 developments on Immigration, Tax and Social Security' on 16 April at 9.30 am or 21 April at 3pm.
About the webinar
The past weeks have been rather turbulent for everyone. The WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic as of March 11th and new updates reach us on a daily basis.
During this time we would like to take a moment and look at what this means for your company from a Swiss Immigration, Tax and Social Security perspective.
All Swiss COVID-19 Tax & Legal news in one place
We are glad to announce our new Swiss focused COVID-19 Tax & Legal impact website, which features a wealth of readily accessible content to help our Swiss clients manage and mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19.
The Swiss COVID-19 Tax & Legal impact website
In addition to the large scale health threat, the COVID-19 outbreak is heavily impacting economic activity, leading the Swiss government to take measures to help businesses deal with and mitigate the sizeable impact. will be updated on a frequent basis so that you can stay in tune with the latest developments.
Update on Swiss travel restrictions due to COVID-19
Switzerland is one of many European countries impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic, below are the latest updates by the Swiss government on travel restriction:
General travel restrictions:
As of 24 March, the Federal Council has extended the travel restrictions at the Swiss border to all nationalities (including all EU/EFTA countries). All non-Swiss nationals can only cross the border with:
Government-backed Bridge-Financing loans for Swiss businesses
On 20 March 2020, the Federal Council announced a comprehensive package of measures to mitigate the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of these measures was the introduction of government-guaranteed loans from Swiss banks as an interim measure for Swiss small and medium sized enterprises (“SMEs”), including sole proprietors and partnerships by providing them with sufficient liquidity to cover their current fixed costs despite a COVID-19 related loss of turnover. The federal government expects to provide Swiss SME’s with approx. CHF 20bn in financing to cover liquidity shortages in the coming weeks.
Switzerland’s response on liquidity management potential for VAT positions due to COVID-19
The COVID-19 crisis has changed the world just significantly since the beginning of 2020. The Swiss government, as well as the VAT Authorities, have taken actions that aim to support liquidity management for businesses in these challenging times.
COVID-19: Swiss tax authorities to help taxpayers to preserve liquidity
Swiss tax authorities are participating in the widespread effort of countries and support Swiss taxpayers.
As part of the countries masterplan and stimulus package to counter the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Swiss Federal Government provides for a number of tools to keep liquidity going:
Extended US Tax day to 15 July 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic
The US Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced on 21 March that the federal income tax filing due date is automatically extended from 15 April to 15 July.
Taxpayers will also have until 15 July to pay Federal taxes without penalties and interest.
UPDATED: The IRS have confirmed that the above automatic extension will now apply to Federal gift or generation skipping taxes due on 15 April.
Swiss individual tax return filing deadline - extensions due to COVID-19
Many cantons have extended their filing deadlines in recognition of the challenges faced by taxpayers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ordinary deadline for filing tax returns is set for most cantons on or around 31 March.
COVID-19 – Indirect tax challenges and opportunities
Indirect tax being everywhere, COVID-19 triggers VAT and customs challenges but also opportunities. In-house indirect tax teams must therefore stay tuned to help the business going through these turbulent times.
COVID-19 and the employer's options under Swiss labour law
The current situation with the rapidly spreading virus Sars-CoV-19 brings uncertainty for the economy and, thus, for employees and employers. What possibilities does Swiss labour law offer employers to react to this situation? We are providing answers to this question.
'Staying Connected' our upcoming GES COVID-19 webinar series - join today
Given the current environment, many planned events over the coming months have unfortunately been postponed or cancelled. During this difficult time, with many of us working remotely, connections can be somewhat limited.
With this in mind, we would like to invite you to a new Deloitte Global Employer Services (GES) webinar series called ‘Staying Connected’ which aims to provide perspectives and insights on all aspects of managing a global workforce, and enables access to this through a virtual environment.