Private clients
For private individuals/families, we offer a wide range of services in the field of tax and legal advice. Our advisory services focus on tax optimization, the protection of assets and personal interests, and succession planning.
Private client tax advice.
There are many tax optimization options for private individuals. These cover all types of tax, which is why it is worth checking your situation regularly as part of a tax health check. We’re happy to help you answer all your specific tax questions and carry out your personal tax health check.
Income tax.
You want to make sure that you take advantage of all the tax optimization options in your personal life planning. We take the following elements into account: choice of domicile, joint marital residence versus separate residence, salary versus dividend, debt interest, capital gains versus investment income, significant interest, professional expenses, asset management costs, charitable donations, medical costs, private asset management versus commercial securities trading and commercial real-estate trading, ordinary taxation versus lump-sum tax, foreign withholding tax, use of double taxation treaties.
Wealth tax.
You are interested in assets that are not subject to wealth tax, such as occupational pension assets and tied pensions. In individual cases, some assets may have a lower wealth tax value than their market value, such as real estate and investments in unlisted corporations (private equity) and in unlisted debt securities (private debt). How are art, yachts and airplanes valued? When it comes to wealth tax, you should consider the definition and limits of tax-free household goods. Complex structures such as trusts and family foundations can lead to significant savings in wealth tax in individual cases.
Inheritance and gift tax.
What influence do domicile and the degree of relationship have on inheritance and gift tax? Can you save inheritance tax by making a lifetime gift? How high are the tax-free amounts? What options are there for minimizing inheritance and gift tax, such as relocation, a trust, a family foundation or a charitable foundation? Where are properties subject to inheritance and gift tax?
Tax optimization for the self-employed.
How do private assets get separated from business assets? How is private use of business assets treated for tax purposes? From a tax perspective, is it worth holding securities and properties as business assets? How is transferring business assets to private assets treated for tax purposes? What is the best way to plan for provisions on and depreciation of business assets? How is the sale of business assets from a partnership taxed? What are the implications of hiring staff in a partnership? Can a self-employed person join an occupational pension plan? Is it possible to convert a partnership into a corporation tax-free? How long can business losses from previous years be claimed for tax purposes?
Tax optimization for owners of a joint stock corporation or limited liability company.
What is the ideal ratio of salary to dividend from a company? How is a company valued for wealth tax purposes? Does a company’s balance sheet have excess liquidity? From a tax perspective, is it worth holding securities and properties as business assets of a company? What should the ideal ratio between equity and debt in a company look like? What tax aspects need to be considered in connection with shareholder loans? How does a company create a tax-optimized employee participation plan? What tax provisions can be recognized in the annual financial statements? What are the tax consequences of selling a company? What are the tax consequences of selling individual business activities? Is it possible to spin off individual sub-areas from a company tax-free? Is it possible to give a company as a gift or bequeath it in a will tax-free? What options are there for optimizing taxable profits in the long term? What options for tax optimization does an occupational pension offer? Can a corporation make charitable donations?
Properties.
Should properties be held as private or business assets? What taxes does buying or selling properties entail? What taxes does selling a stake in a real estate company entail? What triggers the transfer of a property from a business asset to a private asset? How are properties valued? What is the right ratio of equity to debt financing? How is the taxable imputed rental value calculated? What expenses qualify as tax-deductible property maintenance? How are properties in other cantons and abroad taxed?
Tax-optimized asset management.
Do you know the return after tax on your securities portfolio? How are private assets differentiated from business assets? What counts as a so-called significant interest? What rules of conduct do have to be observed in order not to be classified as a professional securities dealer/property dealer? Do you claim all tax-deductible asset management costs in each case? From a tax perspective, is it worth investing in investment funds? How are investments in hedge funds, private equity and private debt taxed? How is income from a real-estate fund taxed? What constitutes a predominantly one-off interest payment? Can foreign withholding taxes be reclaimed?
Tax return.
Save time preparing your complex tax return, which includes: internationally broadly diversified securities, private equity investments, investments in cryptocurrencies, properties in various cantons and abroad, maintenance and renovation/conversion of properties, mortgages, art collection, salary, dividend and board fees from family businesses, earned income from work abroad, allocation of restricted employee shares/options, income from a sole proprietorship, business loans in a sole proprietorship, lump-sum payment from an occupational pension plan, valuable household goods, alimony payments to a divorced spouse, distribution from a family foundation/family trust, receipt of an inheritance with an undistributed estate, Swiss old-age and survivors’ insurance (OASI) contributions from a person not in employment, donations to domestic and foreign non-profit institutions.
Representation in assessment procedures.
You’re looking for expert support in responding to a request from the tax authorities, in preparing an objection, appeal or administrative complaint.
Trusts and family foundations.
You’re interested in the tax treatment and benefits of family foundations and trusts. In addition to purely tax aspects, questions relating to succession planning and asset protection also need to be considered. You’d like advice on trust structures managed by a private trust company (PTC) set up by your family.
Retirement.
What’s more advantageous from a tax perspective – drawing a retirement pension or drawing payments of your retirement assets from the pension fund? How are lump-sum payments from a pension fund taxed? What are the benefits of staggered withdrawal of retirement assets from the pension fund? What taxes apply if retirement assets from the pension fund are paid out abroad? How are payments from privately concluded life insurance policies taxed?
Art, yachts and planes.
You want to tax optimize your ownership of works of art, a yacht and/or an airplane. When it comes to the acquisition and trading of works of art, you want to avoid the tax classification of a commercial art dealer. You need to take customs and VAT aspects into account when you import the aforementioned assets into Switzerland.
Legal advice for private clients.
For private individuals and families, protecting loved ones in the event of death, illness or loss of capacity of judgment is paramount. Family law, law of succession and corporate law provide numerous tools to achieve your specific protection objectives.
These planning tools include wills, prenuptial agreements, other marriage contracts, contracts of inheritance, advance care directives and living wills, shareholder agreements and the granting of a power of attorney. Additionally the purchase of a life insurance can complement the named instruments.
In addition to protecting family members in all life situations, succession in a family business is also a major legal challenge.
Private individuals regularly conclude various contracts to shape and secure their day-to-day lives. A professional review of these contracts serves to protect assets and safeguard personal interests. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any legal questions.