Tax Treatment Of ICOs In Switzerland

Initial coin offerings (ICOs) – the blockchain-based issuance of tokens or crypto-currencies for the purpose of raising – are a hot topic at the moment.

The e is continuing strong demand from mostly young, technology-based companies that seek to tap the capital markets through ICOs as a viable and efficient alternative to traditional fundraising. Switzerland offers an open regulatory framework for ICOs and has therefore developed as a hotspot for token offerings.

While the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) published a first set of guidelines on regulatory aspects to be considered in connection with ICOs on February 16 2018, there has been no comparable publication from the tax authorities as yet. The only official guidance that has been issued by certain local tax authorities deals with the reporting of crypto-currencies or tokens held by Swiss resident individual investors in their annual tax returns.