The Influence on Swiss tax law of the Swiss-EC agreement on the free movement of persons

The Swiss-EC agreement on the free movement of persons entered into force as of June 1 2002. However, nothing has yet changed with regard to taxation of EU nationals in Switzerland. The purpose of this publication is to detect violations of the Agreement by provisions in Swiss tax law, and to give recommendations to bring the law in compliance with the Agreement. In particular, the obligation to treat foreign nationals equally with Swiss nationals, and the acceptance of the "acquis communautaire" by Switzerland are analysed thoroughly. The chapter on taxation of employment income analyses whether a different treatment of EU and Swiss nationals is justified, in light of the interpretation of the non-discrimination clause by the European Court of Justice. The aspects cover, particularly, whether Swiss tax legislation allows equal treatment with regard to the tax collection procedure, deductions from employment income and the applicable tax rates.