Glossary of Swiss business law

Read the PDF edition (2 pages)

Swiss law uses German, French and Italian terms that have no exact English equivalent. This glossary explains the terms you will meet most often when doing business in Switzerland.

AG / SA (Aktiengesellschaft / société anonyme): Company limited by shares; minimum share capital CHF 100,000 (Art. 620 ff. OR).
GmbH / Sàrl: Limited liability company; minimum capital CHF 20,000; members are entered in the commercial register (Art. 772 ff. OR).
Commercial register (Handelsregister): Public cantonal register of companies, their officers and authorised signatories; entries are published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce (SOGC).
Capital band (Kapitalband): Authorisation of the board to increase or reduce the share capital within a range of up to 50 per cent for up to five years (Art. 653s ff. OR).
Capital contribution reserves (Kapitaleinlagereserven): Reserves from shareholder contributions; they can be repaid free of withholding tax (Art. 5 para. 1^bis VStG).
Participation deduction (Beteiligungsabzug): Relief from profit tax on dividends and gains from qualifying participations (Art. 69 f. DBG).
Withholding tax (Verrechnungssteuer): Federal tax of 35 per cent on dividends and bond interest, refundable to residents and reduced under double taxation treaties (VStG).
Stamp duty (Stempelabgabe): Federal duty on the issue of equity (1 per cent above CHF 1 million) and on securities transactions through Swiss dealers (StG).
VAT (Mehrwertsteuer): Value added tax; standard rate 8.1 per cent since 1 January 2024.
Canton and commune: The 26 cantons and their communes levy their own income, wealth and profit taxes; rates differ considerably.
FINMA: Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority; licenses and supervises banks, insurers, securities firms and fund managers.
SECO: State Secretariat for Economic Affairs; responsible, among other things, for sanctions and export control.
FTA / ESTV: Federal Tax Administration; levies withholding tax, stamp duty and VAT and supervises federal income tax.
AMLA / GwG: Anti-Money Laundering Act; sets the due diligence duties of banks and other financial intermediaries.
FinSA / FIDLEG: Financial Services Act; governs the offering of financial instruments and the prospectus.
FMIA / FinfraG: Financial Market Infrastructure Act; governs exchanges, disclosure of shareholdings, takeovers and market abuse.
Lump-sum taxation (Pauschalbesteuerung): Taxation of foreign nationals who do not work in Switzerland on the basis of their expenditure (Art. 14 DBG).
DLT securities (Registerwertrechte): Rights recorded on a blockchain that can be transferred only through the ledger (Art. 973d ff. OR).

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 2026.

English

Contact

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.

Get in touch →

Glossary of Swiss business law

Setting up or expanding in Switzerland?