ARTICLE · 25 OCTOBER 2017

Swiss VAT Rate Cuts In 2018

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Swiss voters recently rejected a reform of the country's pension law, which will result in a reduction of VAT rates from 1 January 2018.

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Swiss voters recently rejected a reform of the country's pension law, which will result in a reduction of VAT rates from 1 January 2018.

On 24 September 2017 a popular referendum took place in Switzerland regarding the 'Pensions 2020' project. Currently, VAT rates include a surcharge in relation to pension funds. The surcharge is set to expire on 31 December 2017 and the populace rejected a continuation of the surcharge. Consequently, VAT rates will reduce from 1 January 2018.

The new rates

The following VAT rates will apply from the new year.

Description	Rate (%) 2017	Rate (%) 2018
Standard rate	8	7.7
Food, medicine, books, news papers

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