The Tax Burden Monitor 2024 confirms once again that the canton of Zurich is a high-tax canton when it comes to corporate taxes. Only the canton of Bern taxes corporate profits more heavily. This makes Zurich less attractive for companies, especially in comparison to neighbouring cantons with lower taxes, such as Schwyz and Zug, which also benefit from their geographical proximity to Zurich.
Attractive tax policy
In contrast to corporate taxes, the canton of Zurich performs significantly better in terms of income and wealth taxes for private individuals. Medium incomes of between CHF 60,000 and CHF 200,000 are taxed moderately in a cantonal and municipal comparison. Zurich’s municipalities occupy top places in this category. Middle-income couples and families in particular benefit from the tax structure.
Around a third of Zurich’s municipalities recently lowered their tax rates. Nevertheless, the canton lost one place in the national comparison and is now in 13th place. Property taxes remain stable and rank 10th in the national comparison – below the Swiss average.
Zurich has lost tax attractiveness for companies since 2006
Since 2006, the canton of Zurich has dropped twelve places in the ranking of corporate tax burdens. While other cantons have lowered taxes for legal entities, in some cases significantly, Zurich has remained relatively rigid. As a result, competitor locations Basel-Stadt and Geneva, which are traditionally attractive for international companies, now have significantly lower tax burdens. A direct comparison with the cantons of Schwyz and Zug is also particularly critical for Zurich, which, unlike Zurich, benefit greatly from their proximity to the business centre without having to bear its tax burden.
Zurich remains internationally attractive
The situation is different in an international comparison. Despite the high national tax burden, Zurich remains competitive in the global competition to attract companies. Countries such as the USA and many Western European states (with the exception of Ireland) impose a much higher tax burden on their companies. Switzerland has been able to maintain this competitiveness even in times of economic crisis, although many OECD countries have increased their tax pressure in recent years.
