Key facts
Every year tax expenditures cause losses of at least CHF 2,5 billion of tax revenues for the Swiss Confederation. Tax incentives thus represent one of the Confederation’s most important steering instruments. Tax exceptions can be found in all types of taxes, particularly in the direct federal tax, in the value added tax, stamp duty and also increasingly in the mileage-related HGV charge. The Subsidies Act obliges the Swiss government to examine its subsidy regulations at least every six years. Tax expenditures are likewise to be examined as they represent a special form of subsidy. In 1997 the Federal Finance Administration (FFA) reported for the first time in the Subsidy Report (part I) on corresponding tax expenditures.