The Swiss Federal Council (the country’s executive governing body) declared that the tax law in force in Switzerland is applicable to developments in the blockchain industry.
According to the federal authority, Switzerland does not need to change its current tax law regarding the application of blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)
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No need to adopt new regulations
At a meeting on 19 June, the Federal Council discussed a report on the need to amend Swiss tax legislation in response to developments in DLT and blockchain. According to the official statement, the existing legislation, including taxes on income, profits, assets, capital gains, as well as VAT, „has proven to be effective“ with regard to agreements based on both technologies.
„Therefore, no legislative action is necessary with regard to special tax provisions for these new instruments,“ the Federal Council wrote. In addition, the authority recommended that the coverage of withholding taxes on payroll be not extended with regard to income from shareholdings and the issue of tokens.
Cointelegraph approached the Swiss Federal Tax Administration with additional questions on the matter. This article will be updated if new comments are received.
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The Swiss Federal Council with its eye on blockchain technology
The latest decision by the Federal Council responds to the authority’s initial call to assess the need for blockcha-related amendments to Swiss tax legislation in 2018. In December 2018, the authority said that Switzerland’s legal Bitcoin Evolution framework is well suited to deal with new technologies such as the one mentioned above.
The Federal Council of Switzerland has paid much attention to the development of all blockchain-related issues, taking many measures to increase the legal certainty around the use of this technology in the country. In March 2019, the entity started a consultation on the adaptation of the federal legislation for the development of this type of system. In November 2019, they called for improving the regulatory framework regarding the implementation of blockchain.
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Switzerland has emerged as one of the most favourable countries for cryptomonies and is often referred to as a „crypto-nation“. According to Cointelegraph, major practices related to cryptomonies, such as trade and mining, are subject to federal taxes in Switzerland. As such, persons paid in this currency need to declare their assets for income tax purposes.