Swiss fare well in new Forbes survey

Switzerland's standing as one of the countries with the lowest overall rates of taxation has been confirmed in a new survey by the American business magazine "Forbes Global".

Switzerland’s standing as one of the countries with the lowest overall rates of taxation has been confirmed in a new survey by the American business magazine “Forbes Global”.

In a survey of direct taxation, social security contributions and indirect taxes in 30 countries, Switzerland finds itself in 14th place, at a rate comparable with the United States.

In terms of direct taxation, Forbes looked at an imaginary four-person family in three income brackets and found the Swiss fared second best among European countries. Luxembour came top of the list.

Hoever, Forbes noted differences between Geneva and Zürich. Employees in Zürich earning the equivalent of 50,000 Euros (SFr80,000) retain 81.8 per cent of their gross salary after all deductions have been made, while a counterpart in Geneva will take home two per cent less.

The gap between Zürich and Geneva grows if the salary is greater, the study found. Employees in Zürich retain 76 per cent of their salary – six per cent more than in Geneva – in the 100,000 Euro (SFr160,000) bracket.

From staff and wire reports