Lump-sum taxation (for natural persons)

Philippe FRESARD, notary and lawyer in Berne and Manuel PIQUEREZ, notary and lawyer in Porrentruy

For many years, and quite legally, cantons have set up the lump-sum taxation system for people residing in Switzerland or considered to have moved there by fiscal law for the first time or after an absence of at least ten years, without having a money-earning activity.

This is obviously a very favourable and particularly attractive system for people wishing to plan their taxation. The total amount of taxes is negotiated with the fiscal administration of the canton where the person wishes to move. This is called tax after expenditure as the package is defined according to the costs of the person’s lifestyle and that of all his/her dependants living in Switzerland. In most cantons, it is based on five times the rent or rented value of the taxpayer’s home. This lump-sum tax is the result of simple calculations and considerations: the tax administrations of the Confederation and of the cantons have neither the resources nor the means to check the precision of tax returns submitted by people living in Switzerland without a money-earning activity. The goal of the lump-sum taxation system is to achieve the best possible reflection of economic reality.

Berne/Porrentruy, 30.01.09