SWITZERLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Natalie Dini and Peter Vogt, Tax Partner AG
Mandatory Disclosure of Aggressive Cross-Border Arrangements (“Swiss MDR”) Switzerland has not adopted DAC 6 into its own law, so a Swiss resident individual does not file anything in Switzerland. However, the directive can still affect them whenever an arrangement touches the EU. A Swiss Mandatory Disclosure Regime (MDR), mod - elled on OECD BEPS Action 12 hallmarks, was enact - ed in 2025 and will start on 1 January 2026. Swiss banks, trustees, lawyers and other “intermediaries” must report a reportable cross-border arrangement within 30 days – unless legal privilege applies or the intermediary is outside Switzerland. In those carve- outs the burden flips to the “relevant taxpayer” – ie, the individual who benefits from or implements the scheme – who must lodge the report directly with the Federal Tax Administration. 2. Succession 2.1 Cultural Considerations in Succession Planning The following factors shape Swiss succession plan - ning. • Small, long-living families: Parents transfer legal title to the next generation but often keep income rights (usufruct) to continue to benefit from earn - ings. In order to secure control over a family-run business, parents may keep voting shares. • The Swiss Civil Code’s forced-heirship rules are widely seen as fair: Even after the 2023 reform (forced share for descendants cut to a half) most testators still divide assets arithmetically. Business owners therefore plan early to compensate non- operating heirs (life-insurance, real estate carve- outs) rather than disinherit them. • Switzerland has a strong family-run SME tradition: Governance tools – shareholders’ agreements, veto shares, professional boards, etc – are inserted to let the next generation learn. • High philanthropic engagement: Donating to public-benefit and charitable foundations is cul - turally prestigious. The institutions usually benefit from a tax exemption and donations are income tax deductible to a certain extent.
Succession planning is guided by a culture of egali - tarianism, privacy, and steady, hands-on stewardship – so advisers focus on equalising heirs, staggering control, minimising cantonal tax frictions and preserv - ing discretion. 2.2 International Planning The following factors may have an impact on cross- border succession planning. • Competing inheritance laws: A Swiss testator with assets or heirs abroad must reconcile Swiss forced-heirship rules with the systems of the other affected countries. Since the 1 January 2025 revi - sion of the Private International Law Act (PILA), a Swiss resident who is also a citizen of another country may opt for the law of that other country to apply to their estate, but the compulsory Swiss shares of children and spouses still apply on Swiss assets. • Double taxation risk: Switzerland has only a hand - ful of inheritance-tax treaties (eight, none for gifts). Respective planning with the use of structures can potentially help to mitigate double taxation. • Multi-domicile families: Many Swiss marriages are now binational. A choice-of-matrimonial-property agreement plus a will that names both the govern - ing law and the competent forum is routine; failure to do so can leave heirs fighting parallel probates inside and outside Switzerland. Once wealth or heirs cross borders, Swiss succession plans become a three-way puzzle: forced heirs ver - sus chosen heirs, Swiss cantonal taxes versus foreign death duties, and ever-tighter disclosure rules. Robust solutions blend careful conflict-of-laws choices, trea - ty-aware holding structures, and documentation that will survive automatic information exchange. 2.3 Forced Heirship Laws Protected Shares Swiss “forced heirship” rules still apply. Following the 2023 reform, these protected shares are as follows: • the surviving spouse/registered partner receives half of what intestacy would give;
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