The case

The year 2024 started with two bangs …

Source: 7th convention on Foundation Law

The commentary

The canton of Zurich changed its practice on making charitable foundations exempt from taxes, i.e. the tax rules applying to such foundations were relaxed. In addition to this, the parliament opted for adopting Burkart’s motion on the liberalisation of Swiss family foundations.

The arguments used were similar in both cases: The world is undergoing fast changes and enormous amounts of assets are passed on (to learn more details on Burkart’s motion, click on this link – text in German), which means that foundations require up-to-date framework conditions in order to facilitate applying the rules in their respective sector. This entails that one must refine foundations so that they can show their full potential. When creating the Swiss transparency register, the law makers wanted to be in keeping with the “zeitgeist”. Further, there have been discussions on new forms of property as well as new forms of businesses, both referring to foundations. What has not been answered is the question of what contribution a Swiss foundation can make to facilitate a modern transfer of businesses.

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