Taxation as an argument for the financial centre

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The taxation of individuals is the foremost concern of Geneva institutions, according to the surveys of the Fondation Genève Place Financière.¹ This concern stems from several factors. Geneva’s taxation of high incomes and large fortunes is heavy by intercantonal comparison, which makes it difficult to attract clients, executives and highly paid staff. Political debates on the taxation of wealth and inheritance create uncertainty. Competition from foreign centres, particularly those with neither a wealth tax nor an inheritance tax, is intensifying.

The Geneva financial centre cannot compete with Dubai or Singapore on tax grounds alone. It therefore relies on other strengths: political and legal stability, the quality of its services, the protection of privacy within the limits of the law, quality of life and the presence of a complete ecosystem. Taxation must remain competitive without being the principal argument, which presupposes a delicate balance between public revenue, attractiveness and political acceptability.

For practitioners, taxation is an essential field of advice, but one subject to strict limits. Legitimate tax optimisation, which uses the possibilities offered by the law, is distinguished from evasion and fraud, which the law punishes and which the financial centre has ceased to accommodate. Tax advice in Geneva is now practised within a framework of transparency, in which compliance with the rules of the clients’ countries of residence is a precondition of any relationship.

Notes

Allnews, 21 October 2024 and 16 October 2025, presenting the economic surveys of the Fondation Genève Place Financière. ↩

For general information only. This article does not constitute legal or tax advice, does not replace advice on an individual case and creates no lawyer-client relationship. It reflects the legal position as of September 2025.

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Dr Alexander Ressos, TEP

Rechtsanwalt/Attorney-at-Law

I am a Swiss attorney-at-law and also admitted as a solicitor in Hong Kong and in England & Wales, with almost 25 years of experience.

Together with my multilingual team, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Ukrainian and French native speakers, I advise companies and their owners from around the world on the full range of banking, corporate, commercial and tax law matters in Switzerland, including international tax planning, fiduciary services, and legal family office services including immigration & relocation or real estate investments. My practice has a particular focus on clients from growth and frontier markets in Greater China, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the rest of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, and I equally advise clients from Europe and North America. Through an affiliated Swiss trust company, we also take care of the incorporation and ongoing administration of their companies and other structures, including accounting, tax returns and corporate secretarial services, and I serve as a professional director where required. With the support of a network of first-class cooperation partners, I also implement solutions worldwide.

My approach is to act as a trusted advisor who works directly with decision-makers, on an equal footing: I start from what you want to achieve and shape every structure, contract and tax decision around your commercial goals and how it improves your after-tax return. As “lawyers who make it happen”, my team and I stay involved until your company is set up, your structure is in place and your transaction has closed, and we remain available for any follow-on work that may be required. You benefit from bespoke solutions and personal attention, and sound, friendly and practical advice. We are not the lowest-cost provider in the market, nor do we intend to be; our aim is to deliver well-founded, proper solutions and excellent value for money.

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Taxation as an argument for the financial centre

Notes

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?