Doing Business in Switzerland

Country profile

Situated in the Western Europe, the official name of Switzerland is the Helvetic Confederation. The state is a federal parliamentary republic, divided in 26 cantons. The surface of the country extends on 41,300 kilometers square, with boundaries of Austria, France, Italy, Lichtenstein and Germany. Out of a population of 7.7 million, 21.7% are foreign people. The national languages are German, French, Italian and Romansh. The currency in Switzerland is the Swiss Franc (CHF).Switzerland has its capital city in Berne, but other major cities include Zurich, Genève and Basel. Among the numerous memberships in international organizations, Switzerland is part of the Council of Europe and United Nations, but it refused to join the European Union.

Statistics

In 2010, the Gross Domestic Product of Switzerland was 550.1 billion CHF. The unemployment rate was 3.1% in April 2011. The main international trading occurs with Germany, which is Switzerland’s most attractive partner in both exports (20.8%) and imports (32.3%). Switzerland is also the second most densely forested country in Europe with 30% of forest on land.

Main industries

Important industries of the country include banking and insurance, chemicals, health and pharmaceutical, measuring and musical instruments, real estate, tourism and international organizations. Chemicals, machines, electronics, instruments and watches, as well as Swiss chocolate are among the most exported goods. 

Berne is recognised for its industry of making watches and other high precision machine tools.

Zurich is mostly based in insurance services, while Geneve has a major industry of banking, technology and tourism.

Salaries

Swiss employers know the importance of a well-motivated work force and also keep the high standard of living in Switzerland. As a consequence, the average wage that an employee earns every month is approx. 5,500 EUR. Besides, there is no minimum salary for an employee in Switzerland.

Main corporate taxes

Swedish corporations are taxed with both a federal tax and cantonal or communal tax. The federal income tax is levied at 8.5%. Cantonal corporate income tax varies, but on average its rate is around 13%. 

Switzerland has the lowest VAT in Europe, rating 8% since 2011. Furthermore, reductions are available for certain supplies and services such as food, medicine, newspapers with VAT rates of 2.5%.

Dividend withholding tax paid by companies in Switzerland is 35%. The payment should be made within 30 days after the dividend is made. Companies with the country of residence that has a treaty with Switzerland are granted reductions.

BridgeWest offers company registration in Switzerland, including virtual office and other related services.