Bern, 15.09.23 – At its meeting on September 15th, 2023, the Federal Council noted the results of the consultation on the introduction of a Swiss trust. There is currently insufficient political consensus for the introduction of a trust under Swiss law. In particular, the tax regulations were clearly rejected in the consultation. The Federal Council is therefore refraining from drafting a message and is requesting that Parliament write down the motion.
The trust is a flexible instrument that originally comes from Anglo-Saxon law. In a family context, trusts are often used for estate planning and transferring assets across multiple generations. In addition, trusts are also used in business to maintain, manage or secure assets, for example to finance investments and transactions. Since the Hague Trust Convention (HTÜ) came into force in 2007, trusts established abroad have been recognized in Switzerland. This legal institution has therefore become increasingly important in practice.
So that the actors in Switzerland do not have to resort to foreign trusts, Parliament has commissioned the Federal Council with Motion 18.3383 to create a Swiss trust in the Code of Obligations. The Federal Council then submitted a proposal for consultation. However, the results of the consultation, which the Federal Council noted at its meeting on September 15th 2023, make it clear that the introduction of a Swiss trust is currently not capable of gaining a majority.
The majority do not want any tax regulations for the trust
The Federal Council had proposed regulating the taxation of trusts by law. The majority of the consultation participants, however, criticized the regulation proposed by the Federal Council and primarily called for the continuation of the current practice for taxing trusts.
Great scepticism towards a Swiss trust
Even though there is widespread agreement that Switzerland currently lacks an instrument for asset and estate planning, many participants in the consultation are of the opinion that the trust is not a suitable legal institution under Swiss law. Based on the results of the consultation, the Federal Council therefore comes to the conclusion that the introduction of a Swiss trust currently does not find a majority. Given this initial situation, the Federal Council refrains from drafting a message and requests that Parliament write down the motion.
