Thomas Hug

The OECD minimum tax is a game-changer for Switzerland as a business location. Low tax rates and fiscal incentives, which for decades were a key factor in attracting new businesses, now have only a limited effect. However, this does not mean that fiscal incentives are impermissible. Methodologically, they must be redesigned—for example, as refundable tax credits or direct payments. In the future, there should be greater emphasis on promoting activities based on substance and value creation, which may extend beyond research and development.

In late 2025, the OECD published an update to the OECD Model Tax Convention, which sets out in detail the conditions under which working from home can constitute a permanent establishment. The OECD introduces a new concept of the company’s deemed control over employees’ homes. Based on the legal framework and existing Federal Supreme Court case law, this article analyzes whether Swiss practice regarding the home office as a permanent establishment should be adjusted in light of this new concept and the experience gained from several years of remote work.

In privately held corporate groups, it is not uncommon to find partnerships and other person-based legal entities—such as trusts, foundations, or private individuals linked by shareholder agreements—at the top of the structure. This article analyzes how such legal entities are to be treated under Swiss and international supplementary tax laws and to what extent the provisions of Swiss income and profit tax law influence this.

Workshop by Ivo Manatschal, Simona Studer and Thomas Hug on the occasion of the ISIS) seminar on June 02 + 03, 2025 with the title "Transfer pricing documentation - International and Switzerland"

Not only federal, cantonal, and municipal income taxes (DBG, StHG), but also supplementary taxes (GloBE Model Regulations, MindStV) recognize the concept of subjective tax exemption for legal entities. The regulations are fundamentally identical; however, there are several practical scenarios in which supplementary taxes undermine the profit tax exemption (e.g., cantonal banks, health insurance companies, newly established companies). The author therefore sees a need for action on the part of the legislature and the tax authorities.