Swiss voters approved tax reform in a public vote on 19 May 2019, enabling the new legislation to become effective on 1 January 2020. The legal process to implement the new federal tax law into the cantonal tax laws has already been completed in five cantons (e.g. Basel-Stadt, Geneva, Glarus, Neuchâtel, and St.Gallen). The remaining cantons are expected to implement or, if a public vote is required, to vote about the implementation in the cantonal tax laws later this year.
Companies should now identify the actions they need to take and start to prepare for the changes if they have not already done so. Time is now of the essence, as some decisions have to be taken before the Swiss tax reform takes effect in order to adapt to the new tax environment.
