Switzerland

Switzerland is well known as an innovation-friendly jurisdiction, in particular in the financial sector. This is partly due to the technology-neutral and principle-based approach of its regulation, which has allowed the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) and other Swiss authorities and self-regulatory organisations to flexibly address the challenges of emerging technology, such as distributed ledger technology (DLT), being used in financial services. Furthermore, Swiss regulation typically aims to create a level playing field between traditional players and innovators, seeking to ensure that the goals of financial regulation are met regardless of the technology used in a business model.

In a referendum held on May 19 2019, the Federal Act on Tax Reform and AHV Financing (TRAF) was adopted by the Swiss people and the cantons. The reform includes several measures directed at corporate income taxation, such as the abolition of tax privileges for certain types of companies (status companies) and the implementation of internationally accepted replacement measures such as a patent box or the ability to super-deduct R&D costs (up to 150% of actual costs). The reform also contains tax measures at the shareholder level. The majority of the measures will be in force as of January 1 2020.

Switzerland has delivered some of the largest outbound Chinese acquisitions over recent years and, unlike the EU, has not imposed any formal investment restrictions. Manuel Werder, Philippe Weber, Daniel Eisele and Elga Reana Tozzi of Niederer Kraft Frey examine the market’s rules of entry