February 13th vote – stamp duty abolition: proponents want to empower SMEs – News

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  • The non-partisan committee «Yes to the amendment of the Stamp Duty Act» presented its arguments in favor of abolishing the stamp duty.
  • The Federal Council and Parliament are in favor of the abolition.
  • The SP, the Greens and the trade unions, on the other hand, have called the referendum – they speak of “tax shit” and a gift to the big corporations.
  • On February 13th, the Swiss electorate will have the last word.

The abolition of stamp duties is not a gift to large corporations – up to 90 percent of the tax now affects small and medium-sized companies, the yes committee stated at a media conference in Bern.

Such taxes are economically absurd.

The issuance tax reduces the equity of companies and then puts the greatest burden on them when the economy is in a recession, said the Bern SVP National Councilor Lars Guggisberg in front of the media. “Such taxes are economically absurd.” Businesses should pay taxes when they are making a profit, not when they are in crisis.

What are stamp duties?


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The federal stamp duties include three different duties:

  • the Issue tax (on the issue of securities)
  • the Sales tax (when trading in securities)
  • the Insurance stamp (on insurance premiums)

The Federal Council and Parliament want to abolish the emissions tax. In order to strengthen economic growth, companies should be able to raise new equity without having to pay taxes on it. The abolition of the tax would result in a loss of revenue of an estimated 250 million francs per year for the federal government.

In addition to the issue tax, the federal government levies two other stamp duties. The sales tax is levied on trading in securities and the insurance tax is levied on premiums for certain insurances. The sales and insurance tax are not part of the voting proposal.

Fabio Regazzi also spoke of the most nonsensical thing a state could think of. The Ticino Central National Council, co-president of the committee “Yes to the amendment of the stamp duty law” and president of the Swiss trade association SGV, described the stamp duty as a “special tax on equity and investments”. Only Greece and Spain would know anything comparable in Europe.

This levy is currently affecting companies under construction that have exceeded the exemption limit of one million francs in the second or third financing round, Regazzi continued. And Guggisberg added that it was illogical “that the increase of equity capital by the state is penalized for tax purposes”.

Abolition brings location advantages

The Zurich GLP National Councilor Judith Bellaiche described the levy as an “advance tax on capital”. This affects start-ups, for example, who have had a hard time raising money but have not yet made a franc profit. The Aargau FDP Council of States Thierry Burkart was convinced that Switzerland could benefit from the abolition of the emissions tax. In view of the OECD discussions about a minimum tax rate for internationally active companies, Switzerland could offer another advantage.

It was a long overdue tax reform, continued Burkart. The stamp tax was introduced in 1917 as a result of the First World War and has long been out of date.

«Tax bite» or «SME tax»?

Parliament decided to abolish stamp duty on equity in the 2021 summer session. A non-partisan committee consisting of the SP, Greens, EPP and trade unions is fighting against it. It speaks of “tax shit”. While large corporations and the financial industry are “increasingly privileged”, the population has to pay more.

The yes committee, which describes itself as a broad alliance of associations and parties, rejects this: The federal government has recorded significantly more income since the corporate tax reform. The abolition of the stamp duty, which the committee calls “SME tax”, could strengthen Switzerland as a business location.

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