Transfer tax

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The (so-called) transfer tax is a tax that in Switzerland during a land purchase will be charged and cantons is regulated. It is used to tax the change in power of disposal over a property. The transfer of ownership of a property and the transfer of economic control over a property (acquisition of a majority stake in a real estate company) are considered to be taxable changes of ownership.

Since this tax is regulated by the cantons, there is a separate regulation for each canton. From a purely formal legal point of view , the term transfer tax is not appropriate everywhere. In the cantons of Uri , Glarus , Zug and Schaffhausen , for example, there is talk of a pure “land registry fee”. From a legal point of view, this serves purely to cover administrative expenses.

Other cantons levy the transfer tax as a compound tax: elements of a fee to cover costs are combined with elements of a tax to generate income.

The cantons of Zurich and Schwyz have had no real estate transfer tax or comparable fees since 2005 and 2009, respectively, due to cantonal popular initiatives submitted by the respective homeowner associations . The cantons of Bern and Solothurn did not completely abolish such a tax, but introduced a tax exemption of CHF 800,000.00 on the market value of a property (canton Bern) or dropped the tax for owner-occupation of a property (canton Solothurn).

Elevation

Cantonal survey

The collection of this tax in the form of a tax is usually a matter for the canton, but it can also be delegated to the municipalities in individual cases.

The real estate transfer tax is levied on a purely cantonal basis in the cantons of Bern, Lucerne , Obwalden , Nidwalden , Solothurn, Basel-Stadt , Basel-Landschaft , Appenzell Innerrhoden , Thurgau , Valais , Neuchâtel , Geneva and Jura .

In the cantons of Friborg and Vaud , the municipalities are allowed to levy an additional tax surcharge. In Vaud this can amount to up to 50 percent of the canton tax, in the canton of Friborg as “centimes additionelles” up to 100 percent of the canton tax.

In the cantons of Uri, Glarus, Zug and Schaffhausen, the collection takes the form of fees at the cantonal level. The canton of Aargau levies a land registry tax as a compound tax, the canton of Ticino levies a causal tax in connection with a transfer tax.

Survey by municipalities

In the cantons of Appenzell Ausserrhoden , St. Gallen and Graubünden , the municipalities are responsible for collecting the tax. However, it is up to the municipalities of the canton of Graubünden whether they levy such a tax or not. Only the maximum tariff is specified here.

Taxpayer

The organization of this charge is also regulated differently. Most cantons collect the levy from the purchaser.

The cantons of Basel-Landschaft and Obwalden share the tax liability between the seller and the buyer.

In the cantons of Aargau and Appenzell Ausserrhoden, the purchaser or the seller can be the tax debtor, depending on the agreement between the contracting parties.

Rates

Due to the different cantonal regulations, there is a large number of tax rates or fee rates, which can also be combined with minimum values, reduced rates or pure fixed amounts. In addition, there are in turn many cantonal regulations that result in an exemption from this tax.

It is therefore impossible to give a binding indication of the tariffs in a few words.

For example, the canton of Neuchâtel has the highest tax rate: normally 3.3 percent. In the canton of Uri , on the other hand, the regular fee rate depends on the material value and can be between 0.1 and 0.2 percent. In the canton of Zug, however, an hourly rate of 180 francs is set for the workload.

Some cantons, such as the canton of Solothurn , levy a property gains tax (Art. 48 ff. StG) in addition to the H. (Art. 205 ff. StG).

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Tax Law of the Canton of Solothurn of December 1, 1985 (StG), with additions