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| I am a UK national and arrived in Thurgau with my UK partner and our three children in September 06. looked for a normal Swiss job in Sales & Marketing, but was unable to find one.
I then managed to get a years contract with a UK company on a self employed basis, salary guaranteed for 12 months and three months notice thereafter. I send them an invoice every month and they transfer the money into my Swiss account. All my travelling expenses and work related expenses get paid by the UK company. I get paid Gross in USD from the UK.
I then employed a local accountant to take up my case with the local authorities so that my tax and pension is paid in CH. I am earning good money and it didn't seam to be an issue.
The authorities have come back and said that I cannot be self employed on the basis that I have signed an exclusive contract with a UK company. Ie I cannot receive a revenue from anybody else.
This has left the accountant recommending that I set up a Swiss GmbH at CHF 20K. Firstly I have not got 20K to do this and I am asking the question why must I.
If I do this then I will obtain the B or C Bewilligung.
So then I ask the questions:-
My partner works full time, if we marry then I will get an L Bewilligung, same one as her, but can I now enter the Swiss tax system
My kids are in CH, can they say that I can only stay here for 90 days / year. Although we have adequate childcare in place for the three kids, I am saying that because I work from home and my partner works full time I look after the children on a daily basis that fits around my work. I can adequately finance myself and am no burden on the state and have all the necessary insuraces in place, ie health, accident etc.
What would happen if I set up a UK Ltd company (CHF 250) and employ myself and send myself to Switzerland on a years contract to be with my family. Obviously I want to pay tax here.
Has anyone been in a similar situation or know of a sensible way forward.
Andy | |
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Firstly as a UK national you can get a permit without much difficulty normally. The mistake you made is to sign an exclusive contract in your name. It is not just Switzerland that does not like this but many other countries as well. Effectively you are now a pseudo employee of the company without the benefits ie social benefits and with a strong desire to deduct things such as expenses from your taxable income - hence the resistance.
Lets look at some of your points. A Swiss GmbH is actually relatively cheap to set up and does not cost 20K. I assume you have some work related tools ie computer, printer, fax etc. You can "Sell" these to the company and effectively place them in the company's name. Also, you might own a car. If so, then you can give that to the company too. At this point you will have achieved the 10K paid up requirement of a GmbH. The 20K is the minimum maximum that you can be liable for and not the amount of money required to be invested. You will also need to create articles of incorporation and have these formally notarized as well as registering with the local company registrar and potentially the VAT people. You will then be a director of a Swiss company and can work and bill through it. At this point you have a right to a permit. You can find out plenty about setting up a GmbH in other threads.
If you marry you will still be in the same situation as before apart from you will indeed enter the Swiss Tax system as Swiss income tax is payable on joint global wealth and earnings of the couple. But do note, you will not be part of the Swiss employment market as they will view you as being a UK employee and part of that market. You will also need to get an accountant involved who is fully aware of the tax treaties between the UK and Switzerland and that is going to cost you
With respect to kicking you out, no they are not going to do that as you have another right here that allows you to stay with your family unit even if unmarried. And now you contradict yourself, sorry for being blunt, by saying that you can adequately finance yourself but are not able to find the few thousand to set up a Swiss company... I know what you mean but the Swiss do have a different opinion of financing yourself...
If you set yourself up as a UK company you will fall inbetween the lines. While you are resident here you are liable for Swiss Tax, however with the contract you have you will need to pay tax in the UK. The Swiss will not see you as part of their system but will tax you and this will fall under the tax treaty between the two countries.
What would I suggest. Firstly, it will be much easier if you set up a Swiss company to deal with this. You then only need to ensure that your existing contractual relationship is switched from your name to your company name. If for some reason you are not prepared to do this then you run the strong risk of not becoming part of the Swiss employment market and that would have negative implications in the long run not least of which is your pension fund.
What you could do is set-up a UK based marketing company and you are employed as the Swiss agent in Switzerland with a salary paid into your bank account in Swiss Francs and pay yourself the deductions for all the relevant social funds. This would however be quite messy although it might work. The reason it would be messy, is that the company employing you should be registered in Switzerland in some form and you don't want it to be. If you are wanting to simply work along side and not within the law then this is not a problem, but you are wanting to work selectively around the law choosing the bits you want to apply and not others. Normally you are either in or out but not in and out if that makes sense.
What I would suggest is simply thinking about where it makes most sense to have your business and if that is in the UK then forget about informing the Swiss authorities - you are a house husband if they ask. If it makes most sense to have your company in Switzerland set up the Swiss GmbH (see other threads for instructions) and join fully in with all the fun. Thanks in advance for the reputation ;-)