Swiss VAT changes

The Swiss Parliament has ratified a number of changes to the VAT Act, effective 1 January 2018.

These include:

• Applying the reduced 2.5% VAT rate to online media
• The place of supply for domestic electricity, gas and telephony becomes the residency of the consumer
• Introduction of a CHF 100,000 VAT registration threshold for branches of public authorities supplying other public bodies
• Withdrawals of the CHF 100,000 VAT registration for non-resident service providers (1 January 2018)
• Real estate option to tax invoices requires that the VAT number of the provider and the VAT calculation to be clearly shown
• Changes to the VAT calculation on the art and antiques sales margin scheme