Three perspectives

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The book combines three perspectives. The historian's perspective comes first, because Zug's present is less improvised than it appears. The political culture of the small canton, with its federation of town and rural communes, its communal property institutions and its tradition of negotiated compromise, shaped the way it later competed for companies. The experience of foreign money is older than the holding company: for three centuries, the canton's elite lived from mercenary service and from the pensions paid by foreign crowns. The quarrels over the distribution of those pensions anticipate modern debates about the distribution of tax revenue. Industrialisation, which reached Zug in the 1830s, brought the first foreign entrepreneurs and the first multinational enterprise, preparing the town for the arrival of international capital.

The lawyer's perspective comes second. A business location sells legal certainty, which takes the form of rules: tax statutes and rulings, company law, the commercial register, financial market regulation, anti-money-laundering obligations, sanctions ordinances, the law of foundations and trusts, and the procedures of the courts and authorities. The book sets out these rules as they stand in September 2026, with references to the statutes and to the decisions of the Federal Supreme Court and of the cantonal courts where they matter. The practitioner's perspective comes third. The rules become visible in transactions: the incorporation of a company and the choice of its seat, the substance requirements of a treasury centre, the structuring of a commodity trade and its financing, the licensing of a trading platform for tokens, the relocation of a wealthy family and its lump-sum taxation, the handling of a sanctions exposure or a criminal investigation. Each part of the book turns to the practical questions that arise in such files.

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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Three perspectives

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