the swiss case. tax competition

7/28/2019 The Swiss Case. Tax Competition

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85

Pierre Bessard

Comptton:

Sw C

1. IntroductionOgnlly volunty conton o tto kng -om om ngbong kngom n mp tougout tcntu, Swtzln tll m up o 26 ovgn tt, c

wt t own t ytm, n ton to t cntl govnmnt. Altoug uc tognty mgt m otc t t glnc n county o 7.4 mllon nt, Swtzln mn on

o t ct count n Euop nc t lt 19t cntuy.oy t njoy t gtt ccumult wlt p cpt n t

wol, n unmploymnt, t oun 2.5 p cnt, low. In 2006Swtzln nk t n t Wol Economc Foum’ GloblCompttvn Rpot.

A t c o mot mll count, Swtzln’ lng po-ton cn b pln by long-tnng opnn tow globl

t n nvtmnt, wby ubtntl vnu pttom bo. (Sgncntly, Sw compn mploy ov 2 mllonpopl bo, wc mo tn l o Swtzln’ omtc

wokng populton o 3.6 mllon; Sw Ntonl Bnk, 2006.)But om o t tu o t Sw ytm—n ptcul nttu-tonl vty n t nung t comptton—lo ply om



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pt n nncng popty, n ptcul by povng tpy wt mo coc n btt potcton o t popty gt.

2. Swiss Fiscal Federalism

Sw cl lm t oppot o wt lm mpln mny ot count. Poltcl utoty bult om t bot-tom up. Sw l govnmnt v t lgtmcy omt 26 cnton, not t ot wy oun. A ult, t cntlgovnmnt only ply uby ol, cyng out lmtcomptnc tt ccount o l tn on-t o totl tn pnng.

T 26 cnton njoy ctul t ovgnty, wl t cntlgovnmnt cn only lvy t pov o n conttutonlpovon, wo lgtmcy v om mjoty o botcnton n vot. Not only o t cntl govnmnt obtnt lgtmcy om t cnton, but t pow to t lmt ntm. It blty to lvy ncom t n t vlu- t, ..,

Levels of Government (% of tax

revenues) 2006

Cantonal

41%

Federal

31%

Municipal

28%

Figure 1:

Signifcance o the Tree Levels og Government (% o tax revenues) 2006

Muncpl

28%Cntonl

41%

Fl

31%



87

Ax COMPEIION: hE SWISS CASE

60 p cnt o t t vnu, gully by mn o

n (t lt tm n 2004) n cuntly ppl untl 2020, wn nw num wt oubl mjoty o cnton nvot wll b qu.

In om ntnc, vn mjoty o vot t t ntonllvl uppot ptcul polcy, t my b tun own bcumjot n mll cnton c t ot wy. T voc o t mllt cnton, U, wc 35,000 nt, count jut muc t voc o t bggt on, Zuc, wt 1.3 ml-lon nt. Cntonl ovgnty to tn to lmt t“tynny o t mjoty”, n potct t gt n om o coc o nt n mll jucton.

At t locl lvl, ppomtly 2,800 muncplt lo njoy vou g o ovgnty ccong to t cnton’ cont-tuton. Cnton, nclung muncplt, ply by t motgncnt ol n t t ytm. Fo t mot pt pnng c-

on m t t lvl t wc t lv; t lttlconncton btwn t ovgnty n pnng.

3. ax Competition: Substantial Positive EfectsCntonl utonomy n t mtt wll-tbl pncpl.It lct nt polcy pot by cntonl govnmnt,nt pnc by nt, n t cognton tt t

comptton ply potv ol n kpng t t n publcpnng n cck. In c cnton, vot, t plmnt, n tgovnmnt c on t t bun n publc pnng.

ct moccy by num ply cntl ol n pol-cy mkng. Btwn 2004 n 2007 vot ppov mot toubtntl t ucton n po o tngtnng conomcgowt n mo tn l o ll cnton. T wll l to vbl

ucton o t o GP n comng y. Puo t nc mn g t t cntl govnmnt lvl, l-toug t not cl wt poltcn wll b bl to lvy movnu. In 2004, vot ovwlmngly jct—by two-to-on mjoty— govnmnt popol to vlu- t by 1.8 pcntg pont.



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T omtm pupot o “c to t bottom” povto b unoun. T cntl govnmnt n t cnton pov

g-qulty ntuctu, n vot cn ppov n jct pub-lc pojct, nclung t t vnu ncy to nnc tm. comptton to nu gt vty, coc, n -cncy. T bn totclly n mpclly ubtntt(Fl, Kcgän n Scttggg, 2003; Aln, 2002). Anvul n bun coo t locton ly, poltcnn mntton oc to o n ttctv combnton

o publc vc o t lowt pobl t bun. Anot vntg o mll-cl t comptton tt t l-low compon o govnmnt pomnc. Rnt cn vl-ut polcy ult n t jucton comp to ot. Tpomty o poltcl tuctu lo llow gt contol, nt comptton nc t qulty o poltcl con-mkng.

Figure 2:

Switzerland’s tax map: Cantonal ax Burden Index

Avg o t wol o Swtzln = 100; nc y: 2005.

Souc: Sw Fl ptmnt o Fnnc/Inttut Contnt Rbcqu



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T nnovton potntl n t pmntton o nnovtv

polcy oluton lo w nnt to t comptton. Ovtm, btt pctc mplmnt n mult, n otbnon. T motly ppn toug “tl n o” po-c; t o not ollow pln gn om bov. Inttutonlvty n comptton lo mn tt pog not ln.Conquntly, nc n t bun otn mpotnt.

T pnc o Sw cnton n t multtu o mn-Stt uc ub, hong Kong, Lctntn, Monco o Sn-gpo wt l vy tton, ll mong t mot popoucount n t wol, ow tt t cn b no “conom o cl” n t l o tton: gnlly, t clo t cono jucton tkn to t nt n t t otm to potntlly mov to jucton clo to t cuntplc o nc, t mo polc wll tn to copon tot nt’ l n n pnc. ub, o ntnc, on

o t mot ynmc ntntonl conomc locton pt tunnvbl gogpc poton, o not pply ny t, but only cg u o vc pov. Som Sw cnton vntouc gv t cl, wo t gut o ttty c t t mount nc.

Swtzln’ cl vty llow compng t ult o nt t polc btwn lmot ntcl jucton, o

mpl n t c o t jcnt cnton o Nwln nObwln. In t om, wc puu on o t mot ttc-tv t polc o mny y, GP p cpt now 44 pcnt g tn n t ltt, wc untl 2006 t gtt bun n Swtzln n coul only uvv toug cntlgovnmnt ub. Tnk to vty llowng t t bu-n to vy tt muc btwn two jcnt vlly, Obwln’

mtkn polcy w nlly cognz uc n t conqunc- mn lmt to ltvly mll jucton, wo motpouctv nt coul ly l. Un ully cntlz gov-nmnt, owv, t woul v bn muc mo cult, wtonly ntntonl compon lpng, to nty n my tct o puntv t polcy ot wt ub.



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A wt ntntonl ncto, o mpl t mu o co-

nomc om o t z o govnmnt, t v ltonpbtwn t n popty vnt n t c o t Sw cn-ton ( nt pg). hg-t cnton tn to v low ncomp cptl tn low-t cnton, w mo cptl vlbl opouctv u. O cou t ot cto n cpton -fctng locl ptcult, uc t tmly pouctv wol-

w pmcutcl nuty n g-t Bl-Cty.

4. Limits to ax Diversity Cntonl ovgnty n cl mtt not wtout lmt, ow-v. In 1977, vot ccpt lw monzng t t b.Cnton mn to t t t, ucton, n ot ul,n coul totclly mplmnt zo p cnt cptl t, butnot omlly bol t cptl t. bn ctcz nunu lmtton on t poc o tl n o unlyng ll

nttutonl nnovton (Cuzon-Pc, 2005). A n mot ot lly ognz tt, nclung Gmny

o t Unt Stt, Swtzln mplmnt n nt-cntonltn pogm pupotly gn to uc nc b-twn cnton. In ct, nc t tt n 1959 t pogm only cbt nc, cnton on t cvng n m noot to mpov polc, n n ptcul to cut t, countng

on ub nt. howv, t tuton cntly mpovollowng 2004 om ctng nnc ncntv o bttt polc n t ucton n ubz cnton.

Alo, wl t nputbl tt t comptton powulntumnt gnt c tton, t woul b cl to cont quvlnt to mkt comptton. In, n t pvt cto,comptton mpl tt c pouc n conum cn conclu

t wv ty . T ll t mo tu n wol n wc t cot o t v tongly c n w nom-ton cn b vlbl n l tm om nyw. Invul tucn u t om o coc wtout tcton. In t mtt,on t ot n, t nvul ubjct to monopoltc powo cocon on plc o nc (Sln, 2007).



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Cantonal Indicators

Bun In GP p cpt ChF Populton

Swtzln 100.0 52,657 7,415,102

Zug 52.4 92,168 105,244

Scwyz 68.5 49,336 135,989

cno 74.3 40,577 319,931

Nwln 78.0 68,450 39,497

ugov 84.0 44,230 232,978Zuc 85.8 67,375 1,261,810

Agov 90.2 48,153 565,122

Bl-County 96.2 51,917 265,305

Gnv 97.5 61,223 427,396

Appnzll IR 100.3 45,429 15,029

Vu 107.2 51,474 647,382Scun 112.2 53,916 73,788

Solotun 112.8 45,873 247,379

Snt-Gll 113.4 44,103 458,821

Lucn 115.2 42,592 354,731

Bl-Cty 115.4 107,592 186,753

Vl 115.9 36,850 287,976 Appnzll AR 117.9 43,488 52,841

Gon 118.8 45,946 187,812

Bn 121.0 44,845 955,378

Fboug 124.3 38,760 250,377

Ju 125.1 38,762 69,091

Glu 127.5 69,865 38,317

Nucâtl 133.7 48,401 167,910

Obwln 136.0 38,562 33,162

U 137.8 44,374 35,083

Souc: Sw Fl Oc o Stttc



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5. Personal axes

Swtzln’ cl vty vnt n ll , n t ptcu-lly tu o t ponl ncom t, w t t bun cn up to multpl o 3 pnng on t locton (B,2007). Fo mpl, ngl pon wt ChF 50,000 (US41,300) nnul ncom wll py 5.17 p cnt n t n tcnton o Zug n 12.85 p cnt n t cnton o Nucâtl. A m tpy wt two cln wt ChF 100,000 (US82,600) nnul ncom wll py 3.54 p cnt n t n tcnton o Zug n 11.78 p cnt n t cnton o Nucâtl,o t tm muc. Yt t tll nt lvng n ucplc. clly mpz tt t but on cto n tcoc o locton.

how pogv t ytm lo pn on t cnton. Fompl, t nc btwn t t t o t pon’ncom o ChF 50,000 n ChF 100,000 ng om 2.16 p

cnt n t cnton o Zug to 10.53 p cnt n t cnton o Gn-v. Fo tt ctgoy o tpy, Gnv’ t ytm tov tm mo pogv tn tt o t cnton o Zug.

Wtn cnton, t t bun lo v gncntly pn-ng on t muncplty, ltoug nc my b mo g-ncnt n om cnton tn ot. A n llutton o tonc, blow t ctul t bun n t bt n wot

muncplt n t v mot n v lt clly ttctv cn-ton o t m tbl ncom o ChF 200,000 (US 165,300)o m nt wtout cln:

Cnton Lowt-

Muncplty

hgt-

Muncplty

Zug Wlcwl ChF 16,460 Untäg ChF 19,340

Scwyz Wollu ChF 12,760 Stnn ChF 23,800Nwl hgwl ChF 20,320 Bckn ChF 26,800

Appnzll IR Appnzll ChF 22,440 Obgg ChF 27,520

Zuc Zollkon ChF 21,060 Wnttu ChF 28,380

Gnv Collong-B. ChF 31,580 On ChF 35,600



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Fboug Gvz ChF 31,660 Romont ChF 39,420

Ju Couou ChF 35,060 Cougny ChF 38,900Bn Mu ChF 30,800 Lutb. ChF 40,160

Nucâtl Mn-E. ChF 37,300 Couvt ChF 41,620

T nc t mot mtc n t cnton o Scwyz, w tpy my py lmot twc muc (o l) n tpnng on w lv. nc btwn muncplt

lo bov vg n t cnton o Bn. Aco Swtzln,t m tpy b n Couvt, Nucâtl wll py 3.2 tmmo t tn not b n Wollu, Scwyz n 2.5 tmmo tn on b n Wlcwl, Zug.

T vnc uggt tt t ncom t t n cnton low, t low t t t o t ngbo (Fl n Rul,2005). A mnton, om cnton pply gv t om c-

tn ncom bckt, wby mgnl t c ncom. In ot wo, t t ytm n om cnton w poplo bng mo pouctv. T mgnl t t on t mot uc-cul tpy n t cnton o Zug, o ntnc, only 11.5p cnt. By contt, to g-ncom tpy woul c mgnl t t o 29.8 p cnt n t cnton o Gnv.

At t l lvl, tply pogv but ltvly low-t

ncom t bn lv nc 1941. T t w ntn tmpoy mu to nnc Swtzln’ n ot n Wol W II, but nv bn contnu, t pp to botn t c wt “tmpoy” t.

Wealth Tax All cnton n muncplt lvy wlt t t pogv,lt, o gv t (pnng on t cnton) n conjuncton

wt t ponl ncom t. No uc t t t t llvl. Wlt up to ctn tol (om bout ChF 50,000to bout ChF 200,000 pnng on t cnton) t-mpt.

All bt cn b uct om tbl wlt. Altoug otngtly ctcz n unncy pnlty on vng n cptl



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ccumulton, t wlt t gnlly vw compom

n cng o mptng pvt cptl gn om t ncomt; t wlt t gn to b low noug to ppomt t on cptl nng. nc n t bun btwncnton ubtntl. top mgnl t t v btwn0.18 p cnt (cnton o Nwln) n 1 p cnt (cnton o Gnv). Fo tbl wlt o ChF 1 mllon (US 826,000),t ctv t t v btwn 0.172 p cnt (cnton o Nwln) n 0.697 p cnt (cnton o Fboug).

Taxation According to Expense: A Swiss Peculiarity o nt wo o not n ny gul ncom wtnSwtzln n v not on o o t pvou 10 y cnk to b ully mpt om ncom n wlt t n py nt lump-um t b on t pn n Swtzln.Rtunng Sw ctzn my bnt om t opton up to t

n o cunt t po, w non-Sw ntonl cn bn-t om t nntly. A gnl ul, t t clcult t lt v tm t ntl vlu o t nt’ ou o twcntl pn t tpy lv n otl. Intntonloubl t tt gnlly pply n o to tk nto ccountt p on ncom n wlt bo.

Altoug t ytm bn ctcz pvlg o wlty

ogn kng to vo ony tton n t own coun-t, tct conton pply n my ubtntlly vy, lwy,pnng on t cnton. Cuntly, only ppomtly 3,600nt bnt om t ytm (comp to totl popultono 1.6 mllon non-Sw pmnnt nt n Swtzln).

Wt t tonl bn uc ytm? Fo vy long tmSwtzln con tl ug o pcut popl

oun t wol, not lt o vctm o conctoy ttonn ngbong count wt ptoy oclt govnmnt.In plll, bcu o t g lvl o ty n qulty o lgnlly vlbl n Swtzln, t county ttct wlty nvul om nuty, pot, o t t wo coo t pmnnt nc, t o tmnt o o lvng, nng



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vnu bo tt cult to o t pupo. On

o t ltt uc mov ppn n cmb 2006, wn tng Jonny hllyy louly lt Fnc, w up to 72 p cnto ncom w t wy by t govnmnt, to ttl own nt Alpn ot o Gt, n t cnton o Bn.

Estate and Gift Tax Almot ll cnton pply tt n gt t, wt t cptono Scwyz, wc lv nt, n Luzn, wc o not lvy ny gt t. howv, pou n ct cnnt (cln)o not py ny t n mot cnton; only 5 cnton t tt ngt to ct n only on (Ju) to pou. No uc t t t t l lvl, ltoug t ntoucton omtmbt, but gnlly m t woul qu t unlkly ppovl om oubl mjoty o vot n cnton.

T wp pctc o mptng ct ult o

ntn pu om om pon cnton w ol tpytook nc t tmnt n o to vo tt t. In8 cnton, tt n gt to ct cnnt, .., pnt lo t-mpt. T ytm, t, n pobl ucton vy gncntly pnng on t cnton. -mpt mount oct cnnt, o mpl, ng btwn ChF 5000 (US4,100) n 250,000 (US 207,000) mong t 5 cnton tll

tng uc tt. t (pogv o ft pnng on tcnton) vy pnng on t g o knp. Fo bot nt n n tt o ChF 500,000 (US 413,000), ty vy btwn 5 p cnt (Nwln) n 21.8 p cnt (Appnzll A.R.); o non-mly-lt bnc, t m tt wll bt btwn 14.2 p cnt (Zug) n 53.7 p cnt (Gnv), olmot ou tm muc pnng on t cnton.

Payroll Levies Pyoll lv mount to 12.1 p cnt n Swtzln, wc low n compon to mot ot nutlz count. Suclv ully t-uctbl. Mot o t (10.1 p cnt) go to compnton un o bc py--you-go pnon; t mn-



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ng 2 p cnt nnc t unmploymnt nunc un. hl o

t bun p ctly by mploy; owv, t mly n lluon nc t cot mtt o ct uct n ullom t mploy’ ly.

Sl-mploy tpy mut py t o 9.5 p cnt on tncom o bc pnon; ty mpt om unmploymntnunc. Fo ncom blow ChF 50,000 (US 41,300), lowt (om bout 5 p cnt to bout 9 p cnt) pply. Altougt t v not cng nc 1975, py--you-go pnon nSwtzln not mmun om mogpc pu. Pyolllv now nnc bout 80 p cnt o pnon pn; t t ubz by t cntl govnmnt (17 p cnt) n t cnton(3 p cnt). Snc 2000, n tonl vlu- t pcntgpont bn lv o t pupo. T pon tn to t tu cot o t pogm. In ton, t no cp on tlbo ncom ubjct to pyoll lv, ty mount to n tonl

ft ncom t, n ptcul o g-ncom tpy.Snc 1985, l tpy v lo bn qu to p-

tcpt n cptlz pnon ytm om n ncom tolo bout ChF 20,000 (US 16,500). Altoug t un by t pvt cto n cnnot b cl t, t ytm vly gult by t l govnmnt n qu n -tonl pyoll lvy o bout 12.4 p cnt (vyng pnng on

t pnon un), l o wc p by t mploy. Fo ully pvt tmnt ccount, t lw pov ncom t mp-ton n uctblty o bout ChF 6,000 (US 5,000) yo l tpy n bout ChF 30,000 (US 24,800) ol-mploy tpy.

6. Corporate axes

vty mong cnton jut mtc o copoton.Copot ncom t bot t t l n cntonl lvl. cntl govnmnt ppl lt t o 8.5 p cnt on ntpot. t bun tl t-uctbl togt wt tcntonl t, ultng n n ctv t o bout 6.7 p cnton vg. ng mo compl t t cntonl lvl.



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cnton t copot pot t lt, pogv, o two-lvl t

(pnng on t cnton) vgng 14.6 p cnt, ultng nn ovll copot t t o 21.3 p cnt, wt gncntnc btwn cnton. Cntonl t vy not only cco-ng to t bolut pot, but lo to t tun on cptl. Fompl, copoton wt cptl o ChF 2 mllon (US1,652,000) n tun o 4 p cnt, .., wt nt ncom o ChF 80,000, wll py pot t o 5.53 p cnt n t cntono Zug n 15.98 p cnt n t cnton o Gnv, o lmott tm muc. I t m copoton nt tuno 50 p cnt, o ChF 1 mllon, t pot t ng btwn9.02 p cnt n t cnton o Zug n 18.9 p cnt n t cn-ton o Bl-Ln.

Sw cnton lo lvy cptl t t ft t, cpt n oucnton tt pply two-lvl t. No uc t lv t tl lvl. Rt vy ubtntlly pnng on t cnton.

Low t pply o olng compn (wc lo mptom ncom t). T lt compttv cnton gnlly o notv locton o ny lg copoton, but t t mptcully mul o mll n mum-z bun. Somcnton cuntly lng t t n mov to bcom mocompttv n pomot conomc gowt.

Rcnt cptl t ucton (mplmnt by Jnuy 1, 2007):

Cnton Ol t Nw t

Cnton Ol t Nw t

Zug* 0.0075 0.002 ugu 0.1 0.03

Agu 0.25 0.125 ugu* 0.05 0.001

U 0.425 0.2 St. Glln 0.03 0.02

U* 0.05 0.01 St. Glln* 0.005 0.001

Scwyz 0.08 0.04 Obwln

0.3 to 0.4 up to 0.24Scwyz* 0.005 0.0025 Obwln* 0.04 0.001

Nwln 0.035 0.025

All t n p cnt

* o olng compn t vy pnng on t muncplty



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T lowt-t cnton llow Swtzln to mn ltvly

compttv ntntonlly. T cnton o Zug, o mpl, on p wt Iln. In ton, t cnton cn pov ull t mpton o po o up to 10 y o nwly tblcompn; om cnton, n ptcul clly l ttctv on,mplmnt t t oly ggvly n o to ttct n-vtmnt on t tto, nclung om bo, n t optt t compn wll bng job n oon o lt mo t vnu.

Sw copot tuctu, om o wc outln blow, n ncng mn by ntntonl bun o ll kno uppot ctvt, nclung goup mngmnt (wolw oo t Euop, Ml-Et n Ac gon), bnkng n -t mngmnt, tng, c n vlopmnt, n conult-ng. Intntonl t plnnng bn cltt by copott om n 1997 tt nc t county’ ttctvn.

Swtzln no contoll ogn copoton lglton ott pot om ogn ub t-mpt bo t-buton. Nt t “ubjct to t” qumnt o ognub n o to b t-mpt n Swtzln. Tnk ton tnv tty ntwok, nclung wt t Euopn Unon,vn, oylt n ntt p to lt compn motly t-mpt.

Holding companies. I two-t o compny’ t -nncl ptcpton n lt compn (t lt 20 p cntown, ctly o nctly, by t olng compny), t wll bully mpt om ncom t t cntonl n muncpl lvl.

At t l lvl, ll vn ncom om unlyng nvt-mnt lo t-mpt. In mny c, t ctv ncom t nl; t lmot nv gt tn 2 p cnt. At cntonl lvl

olng compn mut nontl py cptl t on nt tt ft t o 0.001 p cnt ( ppl n t mot compttvcnton).

Domiciliary companies. Wn t lt 80 p cnt o bunncom gnt bo, compny qul m com-pny, wby only t pt o ogn-ouc ncom ttbutbl



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to mngmnt ctvt n Swtzln t (t t m -

uc t ppl to olng compn). Up to 95 p cnt o ncom cn b t-mpt ult, on t b o c-pcct ulng. Suc tuctu u n ptcul by ntntonltng compn.

Service companies. Suc compn pov lt ntt wt tnc n mnttv, nncl, tcncl, o cntcmtt. Ty qu mnmum nvocng o t vc ot pupo, n o to cv tbl pot qul to t lt 5p cnt o pn. C-pcc t ulng cn b obtn.

Principal headquarters. Fvobl t ulng lo povto pncpl tuctu ctng cnt o ntntonl ctvt,

wby t Sw compny ct t pncpl n commono contct-mnuctu tuctu. Pncpl qut tk onoptng k n t lgl ownp o pouct n ton tomngmnt, contol, n mnttv uncton. Pot om

ogn lt compn t-mpt n Swtzln.Finance branches. Gnlly gn ub o ogn

olng compn, nnc bnc l wt lnng, cmngmnt, ogn cng gng, nttng, n nvocng.T mnmum unng qumnt o ChF 100 mllon(US 82.6 mllon). Ruc t t lo pply.

7. Value-Added ax Swtzln plc t om tunov t wt vlu-t n 1995, ollowng bltly t wp opton o t VA n t Euopn Unon (Swtzln omtmt putton o ptng ot count’ mtk 20 ylt). Bun wt tunov o l tn ChF 250,000 (US207,000) t-mpt. Fo bun wt tunov up to

ChF 3 mllon (US 2.5 mllon), mpl lng vlbl.Gnlly vw t on conumpton, t VA n ct lv- t ll tg o poucton n tbuton n on mpotgoo. Epot t-mpt. Ot mpt cto nclultc, ocl vc, ucton n lnng, cultul goon vc, nunc vc, mony mkt n cptl mkt



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tncton (clung wlt mngmnt n bt covy),

l tt l n ntl.T tn Sw VA t 7.6 p cnt, conttng wtt mnmum un t o 15 p cnt n t Euopn Unon.

A uc t o 3.6 p cnt ppl to otl n oly ntlvc. Anot uc t o 2.4 p cnt ppl to oo nctng vc, mcn, book, m vc, n t p.

pt t ttbook putton mpl n ml t, tVA pov to b tmly compl n mul n pctc, nSwtzln no cpton. Eot cuntly untkn tomply t ytm, complnc cot v tly n (Spo,2006). Rgulton mount to bout 2500 pg, n t VA vw g-k t by bun (, 2003; honu,2004). Moov, ltoug mny conomt vw conumptont l mul tn ot, t vlu- t tn to vt m ngtv conomc mpct (Rotb, 1994). Fo lbo-

ntnv cto t mount to n tonl t on ncom, n nmny ntnc t VA mount to n t on nvtmnt.(Up to 54 p cnt o t VA ll on nvtmnt; c. Scot,2003.) A ult, om conomt tt llocton o t t bun n vo o t VA woul l to popotonlly gt conomc mg (Agg n Bck, 2004). Attmpt nSwtzln to t gt pt o t t bun to conump-

ton v l n pt bcu vot gnlly tt gconumpton t wll b u to nnc bgg govnmnt, butlo bcu ty w tt t on conumpton uc tpy’ pobl ncom n tu ncntv to n nblty to v. Mo pcclly, conumpton t v wgbtwn t p-t ncom n pot-t conumpton (nclung conumpton toug vng).

T vnc nct tt govnmnt gnlly vo con-umpton t not bcu ty blv to b conomclly l tuctv, but bcu ty to noc. (T VA

w concptulz n 1954 by t Fnc buuct MucLué n o to optmz t collcton n mpov govnmntuvllnc ov pouc; c. lom, 2004). Poltcn lo



101


lk conumpton t nc ty otn n om tpy,

tu ucng tnc to nc n t t.

8. Swiss Bank Secrecy: A Human Rights IssueSwtzln mou (o, n g-t nton, nmou) o tnncl pvcy lw. lw lvnt pt o t Swt ytm n tt t utot o not v cc to ny nn-cl nomton not ply cl by tpy. howv,t n nonymou wtolng t lv on ntt nvn ncom p to nt, wo v t opton o clm-ng ull un wn lng t t tun.

Sw lglton tngu btwn t “ubtcton”, n -mnttv on, n t u, cmnl on. ubtc-ton occu wn tpy ogt to cl o concl ncomo wlt; t u mpl t lbt lcton o co.T tncton fct t n o g lvl o govnmnt

lgtmcy n t y o ctzn n ult n g lvl o t mol (Fl n Fy, 2006). Swtzln to o not c-ognz ony t von cm n conquntly o nott ogn govnmnt n pocutng tpy n uc c.

Bnk ccy lw n Swtzln unco t pncpl o l-clton n contct-lk ltonp btwn ctznn govnmnt n fct mol mptv tt nvul

v gt to pvcy n t lgtmt own o t pop-ty. In, t lw w gncntly tngtn n 1934 topotct Gmn Jw kng to potct t t om Nz -popton. oy, bnk ccy pom n pt t m ol,povng ug o vctm o lgou pcuton, tnccmnton, poltcl mnt, cl oppon, govn-mnt ntblty, n cm.

Swtzln’ nncl pvcy lw t ouc o ntn-tonl contovy bcu om tpy n g-t ntonplc t t n Sw nncl nttuton, n Swtzlno not cognz ony t von cmnl on. (TSw nncl cnt t wol’ l n ntntonl p-vt wlt mngmnt, wt mkt o 28 p cnt; c.



102

PIERRE BESSAR

onzé, 2007.) Wokng toug ntntonl buucc uc

t Euopn Common n t Ognton o EconomcCoopton n vlopmnt, poltcn om g-t nton kng to vct pvcy lw o tt ty cn tck—nt—t fgt cptl. In pon to t pu, t Sw gov-nmnt ntouc n 2005 wtolng t on uncl v-ng ncom p to Euopn Unon nt. Fnncl nttu-ton v ntm n tn t t nonymouly tot Sw govnmnt, wc tn 75 p cnt o t pocto t pctv E.U. govnmnt. T only wtt t p-ptt o g-t govnmnt, owv, n ntgovnmntlcng o tpy’ ponl nncl nomton mn cl gol o t E.U. n ot buucc.

Altoug t wtolng t compom l onou tnt E.U. ognlly mn, n vn toug t mny loop-ol, t Sw wtolng t nbl t ntoucton o t

E.U.’ Svng ctv, cung mony to f Euop, not-bly to An jucton. n o t comptton n Swt-zln n lw gu tt g-t nton oul tfw n t own t gm t tn ngg n ot to un-mn t nncl pvcy o t nt n t ovgnty o nton wt mo ponbl cl polcy.

9. Te Road Ahead Ov tm t comptton n Swtzln l to mny vo-bl vlopmnt n pvnt cotly polcy mtk. Fo t-py, cntlzton on mll cl mn gt coc npu on govnmnt utot to pn t mony wly “votng wt t t”, .., movng out o jucton, n -ly nocbl tt. cntlzton n t comptton lo

mn tt t utot ly ccbl n gnlly t-py-nly. Swtzln pobbly t on o t w coun-t n t wol w nkng on t “cutom-nln”o t utot gully publ n t p, wby unnly cnton nm n m. bolutly nooubt tt t Swtzln’ gtt tngt.



103


T Sw t ytm lo on o t lt b gnt

t E.U.’ pln to monz n cntlz copot tton(B, 2007b). Swtzln mn bton o nttutonlvty n comptton. Altoug t E.U. gully ctczt Sw cnton o t ttctv t polc, t lttl l-vg, n ptcul bcu Sw cnton contbut to bootpopty n Euop by llowng btt potcton o pouctvcptl tt wll b nvt n E.U. count.

T gtt fw n t Sw ytm, owv, t pnono t cntl govnmnt n t con l o lt cntuy. Tl ponl ncom t, o mpl, wc mnnt o n ot n t 1940, oul v bn bol long go.pt t vntg o ntonl n ntntonl t comp-tton, n ltoug t t bun ougly 25 p cnt b-low t E.U. vg, Swtzln’ t bun contnu to, cng 30 p cnt o GP toy, o 150 p cnt o t

lvl pvlng n 1970. A n ll mocc w govnmntuncton v bn clly tn, Swtzln c gn-cnt cllng n t n utu. T pu o g t ptcully cut n t pnon ytm n ot ocl uby pogm, w pnng v to buy vot n poltclly tougt to oppo. It to pobl tt n comng y,t bun o tton wll nc t t l lvl.

Yt t goo on to mn optmtc. Mo cnton ong t omwok n mplmntng t om ttuc t, n ptcul on copoton n mo pouctvnt, tby mpovng ncntv. Intntonl t comp-tton lo po lmt to potntl b polc n t nc.

An Swtzln uully n up mplmntng t gt om wn t ugnt to o o, o mpl by povng olng n

mnttv compn wt n ttctv t mwok ntunng t nton nto on o Euop’ top locton.Lk n mny ot publc polcy cto, t utu o t Sw

t ytm wll ultmtly pn on t clmt o opnon. Not om cn b mplmnt wtout t mplct o plctppovl o vot n, o l u, t ppovl o cnton.



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PIERRE BESSAR

Wll t Sw t nw ntnl cll to “monz”, ..,

cntlz n uny t t ytm? Wll ty t ctcm omt Euopn Unon n g-t ngbong count? I ty o, t lkly tt Swtzln’ t ytm wll contnu to n-novt n tk ly onbl blnc btwn nvtblmn o govnmnt vc n t mol n conomcmptv to mnmz t t bun.

Reerences Aln, Albto, 2002. T Sz o Count: o t Mtt? Harvard Institute o Eco-

nomic Research Working Paper No. 1975.

Agg, Ct, n Al Bck, 2004. Mehr Wachstum dank Steuerumbau? Ct Su

Economc & Polcy Conultng.

B, P, 2007. Te Swiss ax System: Key Features and Lessons or Policymakers ,

Wngton C: Popt, Cnt o Fom n Popty Founton, 8 (1),

Fbuy. Alo publ n ax Notes International , Anlyt, 46 (13), Jun 25.

B, P, 2007b. Te European ax Cartel and Switzerland’s Role. Lunn: Inttut

Contnt Rbcqu, July.

Cuzon Pc, Vcto, 2005. Un édéralisme compétiti. Lunn: Inttut Contnt Rbcqu.

lom, Guy, 2004. Instauration de la VA. cton Acv Fnc, élégton

u Célébton ntonl.

onzé, Stv, 2007. Wealth Management in Switzerland . Sw Bnk Aocton.

Fl, L P., Gb Kcgän, n Ctop A. Scltgg, 2003. cntlz

ton n t Sz o Govnmnt: Evnc om Sw Stt n Locl Govn-

mnt. CESo Working Paper No. 1087.

Fl, L P., n Emmnull Rul, 2005. Sttgc Comptton n Swtzln:

Evnc om Pnl o t Sw Cnton. CESo Working Paper No. 1516.

Fl, L P., n Buno S. Fy, 2006. ax Evasion in Switzerland: Te Roles o Deterrence and ax Morale. Zuc: Inttut o Empcl Rc n Economc, Unvty o

Zuc, Wokng Pp No. 284.

honu, Nklu, 2004. E., Wieviel ist die Mehrwertsteuer wert? PcwtouCoo-

p.

Rotb, Muy N., 1994. T Conumpton : A Ctqu. Review o Austrian Eco-

nomics , 7 (2). 75-90.

Sln, Pcl, 2007. T C Agnt “ hmonton”. In h. h. Guon n

. . hbton (.). Cutting axes to Increase Prosperity . Rykjvk: Unvty o

Icln P.Scot, G, 2003. Wer trägt die fnanzielle Belastung und was sind die Nebenwirkun-

gen einer Erhöhung der Mehrwertsteuer? SwVA.

Spo, Pt, 2006. Rapport fnal de l’expert chargé de la réorme de la VA. Sw Fl

Mnty o Fnnc.

Sw Ntonl Bnk, 2006. L’évolution des investissements directs en 2005, cmb.

, Mco, 2003. E., Les coûts administratis imposés aux PME par la VA, USAM.

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