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Asset managers are securities dealers under the Stamp Duty Act
In addition to Swiss and Liechtenstein banks, securities dealers within the meaning of the Stamp Duty Act (StG) are defined in Art. 13 para. 3 Bst. b StG also natural and legal persons and partnerships whose activity consists exclusively or to a substantial extent in trading in taxable documents for third parties or in arranging the purchase and sale of such documents as investment advisors or asset managers. According to the practice of the Swiss Federal Tax Administration (FTA), it is sufficient for an asset manager to be involved in the transaction, whether as the initiator of the transaction or merely forwarding (mediating) the order.
Since the StG has many exceptions at the level of counterparties, transactions, securities, or combinations thereof, practical implementation presents some challenges. That is why BS Consulting not only offers support, but also offers "health checks" that can also prepare for the FTA exam.
Since the StG has many exceptions at the level of counterparties, transactions, securities, or combinations thereof, practical implementation presents some challenges. That is why BS Consulting not only offers support, but also offers "health checks" that can also prepare for the FTA exam.
Tel: +41 79 671 74 20
E-Mail: stefan@bs.consulting
Unsolicited registration
with the FTA as a securities dealer
(Art. 34 Abs. 1 StG i.V.m. Art. 19
StV, Stempelsteuerverordnung)
Leadership
eines Umsatzregisters
gemäss Art. 21 StV
Deklaration
der zu zahlenden
Steuern über das Formular 9
(Art. 24 StV)
Payment
of the due
Steuer (Art. 24 StV)
Gemäss Art. 13 Abs. 1 StG, the turnover tax is payable on the transfer of ownership of taxable deeds for consideration, provided that one of the contracting parties or one of the intermediaries is a securities dealer.
Gemäss Art. 13 Abs. 2 StG, the taxable documents are, very simplified, the following domestic and foreign securities:
Bonds, including structured products containing bonds,
Equity securities (shares, limited liability company shares, cooperative shares, etc.),
Investment funds pursuant to the Collective Investment Schemes Act (CISA) including actively managed certificates.
However, the law and the practice of the FTA know a large number of exceptions, especially if the securities are derivatives and structured products.
Provided that an asset manager holds the assets it manages exclusively with Swiss or Liechtenstein banks, it may delegate the calculation and duty obligation for its clients’ transactions to the banks by not delivering its “blue card”, which identifies it as a securities dealer, to the banks. This is not possible with foreign custodian banks because they are not allowed to collect stamp taxes. Moreover, delegation does not make sense if his clients are exempt investors (e.g. investment funds), because he risks having levies imposed where none should actually be.
According to Art. 16 StG, the turnover tax is calculated on the consideration paid (usually market value) and amounts to 1.5 ‰ for securities issued by a Swiss or Liechtenstein issuer and 3.0 ‰ in the case of foreign certificates. According to Art. 17 StG, however, the securities dealer is only required to collect half of this amount for each contracting party, unless one of the numerous exceptions at the level of the contracting parties applies.
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