Working In Switzerland - Taxes !

[ABO944]

Hi All !

Not sure if I have the correct forum, but here we go ..

Have been offered a corperate job in Switzerland where I will work a week on, week off. Will be away from home base of GVA half the week, and just using a hotel for when i'm there.

Living in Portugal, so will commute for work.

Not sure where I stand regarding taxation etc etc. I guess I wouldn't be a resident as I would hardly be in Switzerland.

If someone could refer me to a little light reading (expect it will be heavy reading) about this, or has experience in this field, I would be most grateful for the info !

Cheers,

:ok:

[The African Dude]

I worked in Switzerland with guys who lived across the border in Germany and commuted. The company paid us in Swiss Francs to our Swiss bank accounts and they had to pay tax in both countries I think! Sadly have no literature to which I can refer you, but that's the extent of my experience - if you are paid directly to a foreign account then this may not be applicable.

AD

[FlyMD]

Every country in Europe has a "double taxation agreement" with Switzerland, which means that Swiss taxes will be deducted from your salary. Then, based on the paperwork issued by the Swiss tax authority, your home country will collect the difference between the Swiss and their own tax rate.
In other words you should end up paying quite exactly what you would have paid if your salary was paid in your home country.
Only way to avoid this is to have an offshore contract and having the salary paid from this offshore company to an account not monitored by your home-country's tax-man, which a lot of people do...

[AES]

Dear ABO 944,

Fly MD is basically correct, it does depend on whether or not your present/real country of residence has a double taxation treaty with Switzerland. BUT that all depends on where you "live" - this word being defined differently by different tax authorities. Basically, in the case of Switzerland (and many other countries, but NOT all), this depends on how long (the number of days per year) you are actually "living" (& that can include a hotel) in Switzerland, compared with the number of days you are actually living at your "real home address". It also depends on "where" (in which country) the tax authoriities deem you to be earning your salary, NOT so much on where you physically receive your money. Complex!

And that also depends on whether or not your new employer in GVA is arranging "just" a Work Permit for you, or, perhaps eventually, a (limited) Residence Permit for you. It gets quite complicated, and also depends on which Kanton you are going to be based in (presumably GVA - although your new emplyer may well have their legal address elsewhere) - remember that Switzerland is a Federal nation, which means that in a number of respects it operates like the USA: i.e. various "rules & regs" - and laws! - do vary from State to State.

You should start off by looking at www.taxation.ch (http://www.taxation.ch) (in English) which will give you a broad over-view of the principles of taxation in Switzerland, plus some links to go a bit deeper.

BUT, IMHO you should NOT rely on blokes like me (or anyone else on this forum; or any other mates you may have). Taxation everywhere is very complex and just because something works for "Mr. A" on this forum doesn't mean the same would apply to you - i.e. it all comes down to an individual's personal circumstances and these of course do vary considerably with each individual.

In short you need professional advice to fit YOU. It will cost you a few bob but could save you plenty more than that. PLEASE find a knowledgeable Accountant/Taxation Law specialist practice in your own country, or ask your new employer to put you in touch with one in Switzerland.

I make that plea for you to get PROFESSIONAL advice NOT as an Accountant, etc, myself, but as a simple engineer resident in Switzerland for almost 20 years now (now permanent, and a citizen with my own company registered here, but I didn't start off with that status!); and who, over the previous 20 odd years has also been "resident" (for tax purposes) in the UK, Germany, Norway, and Asia, etc. I learnt from past experience that you DO need personal professional advice for such stuff.

Good luck, and enjoy GVA - you will.

AES