Luxembourg, 14/10/2014 (Agence Europe) - In Luxembourg on Tuesday 14 October, Switzerland and the European Union signed a joint declaration on corporate taxation. Switzerland has undertaken to repeal five tax regimes which are considered harmful in the conclusions of the Code of Conduct group (EUROPE 11106). This is further proof that “when we work together in the EU, to push for fair taxation, impressive results can be delivered”, said Algirdas Semeta, Commissioner for Taxation, at a press conference following the Ecofin Council.
The joint declaration recognises the mutual interest in creating and maintaining a level playing field in corporate taxation. It explains that the Swiss Federal Council has expressed its intentions of ensuring that the measures which replace these five tax regimes are “in line with international standards generally accepted”. For their part, the EU states recognise that once the tax regimes are cancelled, any counter-measures on the part of the member state against these regimes must also be removed.
“This is the end of a long discussion which has taken a great deal of energy”, said Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, head of the Federal Finance Department, upon her arrival. She went on to say: “now we have the opportunity to discuss the real issues we have with the EU”, such as access to the European market for Swiss providers of financial services.
Switzerland is currently working on its third corporate taxation reform, which aims to phase out, by 2019, tax breaks for companies whose activities are largely carried out abroad, holdings and joint ventures. Amongst other things, the move will replace cantonal tax statuses, which infringe international standards, with other systems, such as the 'licence box', which allows for moderate taxation on the income from licences and intellectual property. (EL)