In its media release of 5 November 2019, the WAK informed the National Council about the parliamentary initiative on turnover and insurance levies, on the reform of withholding tax and on legal form neutrality in company taxation.
The WAK of the National Council wants to abolish the turnover and insurance levy in two stages (cf. the parliamentary initiative of 10.12.2009). The first draft provides for the abolition of the turnover tax on domestic securities and on foreign bonds with a remaining term of less than one year as well as the abolition of the tax on life insurance policies (total tax losses around CHF 220 million). The second draft is intended to abolish the turnover tax on other foreign securities (CHF 1.043 billion) and the tax on property and asset insurance (CHF 690 million). It is up to the Federal Council to decide when these two draft laws are to enter into force.
The majority of the National Council's Committee of Economic Experts supports the key figures drawn up as well as the amendments made by the Federal Council in the area of withholding tax reform. It decided to ask the Federal Council to include two additional points in its consultation draft: For domestic natural persons with a shareholding of at least 10%, a voluntary reporting procedure is to be provided for instead of the delivery of withholding tax on dividends and dividend distributions between corporations are to be exempted from withholding tax.
The Commission requests that the parliamentary initiative, which requires that the principle of neutrality of legal form in relation to company taxation be enshrined in law, should not be followed.
The press release is available here.
