The Swiss Federal Council has launched two public consultation processes on a package of tax simplification measures aimed at reducing administrative burdens for businesses and enhancing Switzerland's competitiveness as a business location. The proposed changes span several tax areas, including VAT, withholding tax procedures, and restructuring transactions. 

Main Tax Simplification Measures

One of the main changes proposes that all VAT-registered businesses in Switzerland, regardless of their annual turnover, may opt to file VAT returns annually rather than quarterly, thereby reducing the frequency of reporting and associated administrative work. The Federal Council noted that around 25,000 companies would benefit from this simplification.

Furthermore, the proposal broadens the scope of the withholding tax reporting procedure to include a wider range of intra-group distributions. Currently, such a simplified procedure is mainly available for parent-subsidiary relationships, but the reform would make it accessible to more corporate group transactions. More specifically, around 45,000 companies would benefit from this measure.

Another significant proposal would eliminate the current CHF 10 million ceiling on stamp tax exemptions for qualifying shareholder contributions made during corporate restructurings. Removing this threshold would facilitate larger restructuring projects without triggering additional stamp tax costs.

The reform proposal also aims to reduce reporting obligations by requiring companies to submit annual financial statements only when they distribute dividends or provide benefits in kind. Companies subject to stamp tax would no longer need to file annual financial statements routinely and would instead provide them only upon request from the Federal Tax Administration.

Conclusion

The proposed changes and accompanying consultations are part of a package of 28 measures, adopted by the Federal Council in November 2025, aimed at reducing regulatory and administrative burdens across various sectors of the economy. All interested parties may submit their comments on the proposed changes until October 12, 2026, when the consultations close.