Switzerland Rejects Corporate Tax Reform

Proposed changes to Switzerland’s corporate tax framework have been rejected in a referendum.

Provisional results show that the Corporate Tax Reform III (CTR III) package was opposed by just over 59 percent of voters in the February 12 referendum.

CTR III would have abolished corporate tax arrangements that the Swiss Federal Council deemed as no longer in keeping with international standards. These related principally to the reduced taxation of holding, domiciliary, and mixed companies. To avoid any adverse impact on Switzerland’s international competitiveness, it was also proposed to give cantons the option of introducing a special patent box regime for intellectual property income, and of applying a higher deduction for research and development expenditure.

Reacting to the vote, Finance Minister Ueli Maurer told a press conference, “It will not be possible to find a solution overnight.” He warned that it could now take the Government a year to devise new proposals and longer still to implement them.