making tax rate comparison with or within Switzerland is very dangerous, because you first have to ensure that you compare the same thing! When comparing Swiss corporate tax rate to other countries, are you sure you compare the effective tax rate? Because the tax rate you find in the tax law are the tax rate after tax (income and capital tax are tax deductible expenses in Switzerland!). For instance, a holding company is subject only to federal tax (8.5%), but that rate is after tax. Therefore, if you compare the effective tax rate, it will be 7.83% (8.5/108.5). Same can be said to the applicable tax regime. You also need sometimes to make a distinction between the kind of income. For a holding, participation income will not be taxed at all, whereas other passive income (and some commercial foreign income) will be taxed at only 7.83%....

You know, a joke in this world is to say that Switzerland is not a tax heaven, but a tax advisors' heaven...