Zug,08.01.2009

Mailbox Companies

The cantonal CVP party is fighting to keep Mailbox companies and if Bern doesn’t catch on, they have a Plan B

Express:

The political party is against a federal business tax reform
They demand tax breaks for families and the middle class

«Further interference with cantonal sovereignty is to be rejected

Andreas Huwyler, CVP-Präsident

The EU and especially the German Minister of Finance Peer Steinbrück are putting pressure on Switzerland and therefore also on Zug. The tone has become harsh. Reproaches abound. It’s about money and tax privileges. As a first step the Federal Council intends to forbid the so-called mailbox companies. These companies, which perform advisory functions, would lose their tax privilege. Some of these 10,000 companies (approx. 3000 in canton Zug) would undoubtedly leave Switzerland.

CVP is against the ban

The cantonal CVP doesn’t want any part of it. CVP President Andreas Huwyler explained at a press conference Tuesday “if the Federal Government gives in to the pressure, this could maybe lead to an abolishment of tax privileges. We are against such a ban. "Further interference in cantonal tax sovereignty is to be categorically rejected. Restrictions on cantonal tax freedom will lead inevitably to a paralyses of tax competition” said Huwyler. For him, such intentions amount to tax harmonisation. And he and his party want to confront such issues at an early stage.

For an attractive location

The NFA-Giving cantons would be the ones to suffer the most. “And they wouldn’t be able anymore to support the less wealthy cantons with hundreds of millions of francs each year”. The Zuger CVP explicitly demands the retention of the current arrangement.

If the Federal Government abolishes the tax privileges for mailbox companies, the CVP will demand massively lower tax on profit for companies “so that Zug remains an attractive location”.

Before the Business tax reform III is substantiated, the CVP will petition for tax relief for families and the middle class at the Federal as well as cantonal level. “We will scrutinize the cantonal tax law revision exactly. Then we will see if the possibility for tax relief for families and the middle class has been utilized” stressed Huwyler.

Source/Media Partner: Neue Zuger Zeitung