Switzerland Company Formation Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

2 mins video Switzerland corporate income tax rate is low, only 8,5% (Federal tax), Switzerland highly recognized country so easy to do as well as expanding your business. Holding companies are exempt from tax on income from capital gains and Commercial interest, including loans from foreign shareholders paid by a Swiss company are not subject to withholding tax (Offshore Status if your company is Holding). At least one director has to have his domicile in Switzerland company.

How to open a company in Switzerland?

Switzerland Offshore Company Formation, initially Our Relationship Managers team will ask You have to provide the detailed information of the Shareholder/Director's names and information. You can select level of services you need, normal with 9 working days or 5 working days in urgent case. Furthermore, give the proposal company names so that we can check the eligibility of company name in Switzerland Commercial Register system.

Read more: Swiss company types

You settle the payment for Our Service fee and official Switzerland Government Fee required. We accept payment by Credit/Debit Card     , Paypal  or Wire Transfer to our HSBC bank account  (Payment Guidelines).

After collecting full information from you, Offshore Company Corp will send you a digital version (Certificate of Incorporation in Switzerland, Register of Shareholder/Directors, Share Certificate, Memorandum of Association and Articles etc.) via email. Full Switzerland Offshore Company kit will courier to your resident address by express (TNT, DHL or UPS etc.).

You can open bank account for your company in European, Hong Kong, Singapore or other jurisdictions supported offshore bank accounts! You are freedom international money transfer under your offshore company.

Your Switzerland Company formation completed, ready to do international business!

Read more:

• Swiss offshore bank account
• Merchant account Switzerland

A Swiss company registration number is a unique number assigned to all legal persons on successful registration with the Swiss Commercial Register. The number is formally termed the UID number (Unternehmens-Identifikationsnummer) and is assigned by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office.

The UID number serves as the official identification for a company in all its dealings with government authorities, tax authorities, and public registries. It serves to identify each company uniquely in the register.

The registration number is needed for activities such as invoicing, opening a business bank account, VAT registration, and compliance with the law. The number remains valid for the life of the company and must be noted in official documents.

Swiss company types: The most frequent legal forms are:

• The Limited Liability Company in Switzerland (GmbH or S.A.R.L.) is usually formed by investors who open small and medium sized companies which cannot be listed on the Swiss stock exchange. This type of company must have shareholders who are mentioned in the company documents and disclosed in the Commercial Register. A minimum share capital of 20,000 CHF is required to form the S.A.R.L.
• The Corporation (AG or SA) is suitable for all business needs and its simple requirements for the transfer of shares make it a widely used business form. The shareholders have limited liability and may remain anonymous (unlike for the S.A.R.L.). The corporation requires a larger minimum share capital than the limited liability company (minimum 100,000 CHF with at least 20% paid at the time of the incorporation).

Read more:

• Swiss company registration
• Swiss offshore bank account

In Switzerland, corporate taxes are levied at two levels: federal level and cantonal/communal level;

• Federal tax is charged at 8.5% on profit after tax.
  • At cantonal level, profits are taxed at varying rates between 6% to 21%, depending on individual cantons;
  • Consequently, the effective corporate tax is typically between 12% to 24%;
• Non - resident companies are subjected to corporate tax on income generated in Switzerland if 
  • i). they are partners of a business in Switzerland (Starting a business in Switzerland)
  • ii). have permanent establishments or branches in Switzerland and/or
  • iii). own local property;
• Switzerland holding companies enjoy tax exemptions at cantonal/communal level, and pay a tax of only 7.8%.

Read more

• Swiss company registration
• Offshore bank account in Switzerland

• All GmbH and publicly listed AG need to publicly disclose its shareholders;
• Anti -trust laws prevent Swiss resident firms from entering into contracts which form cartels or monopolies; For M&A matters, approval must be obtained;
• Switzerland mandates the majority of board members of a Swiss AG to either be residents or citizens;
• A Swiss AG can issue bearer shares only if the entire share capital (US$ 110,000) is fully paid up.  A Switzerland LLC (GmbH) can’t issue bearer shares;
• Swiss resident firm must ensure that an annual general meeting (AGM) be held within 6 months of the end of the year;
• Swiss resident firms must pay payroll taxes for foreign employees who do not hold a permanent residence in the country.

Read more:

• Corporate tax in Switzerland
• Switzerland company formation
• Swiss offshore bank account