Automobile tax
The automobile tax in Switzerland is similar to the value added tax, a taxation of commercial traffic and thus a consumption tax . The tax is levied by the federal government on automobiles for passenger and goods transport and amounts to 4 percent of the vehicle value. If the vehicle was produced abroad, the tax is levied when the vehicle is imported into Switzerland; if the vehicle is produced in Switzerland, it is levied by the car manufacturer. Imported electric cars are exempt from the tax. The executing tax authority is the Federal Customs Administration , it is responsible for the enforcement of the automobile tax law.
Motor vehicle tax
In addition to the above-mentioned automobile tax, there is also the annual tax for redeemed (i.e. registered) road vehicles, which is often referred to as “motor vehicle tax”, “motor vehicle tax” or “traffic tax” or “traffic tax”. It is levied for keeping a vehicle and in this respect corresponds to the tax known as motor vehicle tax in Germany and Austria . How they are calculated is regulated differently by canton. In the canton of Bern , it is measured roughly according to the total weight according to the vehicle registration document, in the cantons of Zurich and Aargau according to the type of vehicle and, for passenger cars with a combustion engine , according to the displacement . The amount of the fee also varies considerably from canton to canton. For 2012, the Zurich traffic tax for a passenger car with a displacement of 1450 cm³ is CHF 313.70; the neighboring Aargau, however, charges the sum of 228.00 Fr. for an identical vehicle.
In addition, the federal government levies a motorway vignette for cars and a route-dependent heavy vehicle fee for trucks. These two road usage taxes are also payable for vehicles registered abroad as soon as they use the Swiss motorway network or road network.
