In a most recently published decision, the Supreme Tax Court commented on the distinction – from a VAT point of view - between brokerage services and own-account transactions on online booking platforms: If an intermediary company clearly presents itself to the consumer as a broker, it cannot be legally be the provider of the core service unless it has actually rented the vehicle itself first, the Supreme Tax Court said.
The Swiss Federal Tax Administration is currently preparing an amendment to the Swiss VAT Act as of 1 January 2025 regarding the VAT treatment of the supply of goods via online platforms. In addition, and in order to finance the local pension system, the standard VAT rate shall increase further.
In a current circular, the tax authorities generally comment on the VAT treatment of services provided by exchanges and other trading platforms for financial products and, in this respect, partially amends an earlier decree issued in 2018 with regard to trading platforms for the acquisition or trading of Bitcoin and other so-called crypto currencies.
