Someone told me that a certain number of trades (day trading) classifies you as a professional trader and that you are then obliged to declare your positions on your tax return.

Can anyone shed any light on this please?

Assuming you are not taxed at source, then you are filing a tax return. In that return you must list every single transaction during the pertinent year. The tax assessor will then determine whether you are a "professional trader" and assess you accordingly.

Professional traders are not entitled to tax-exempt capital gains. Instead the gains are added to income and taxed at the standard rate.

i thought you got taxed on everything here

I only show assets held at 31.12 which is what I always thought is what was required.

The form has columns for buy date and sell date. Would imply that you must list sold securities, too.

Are you a day trader then? I would imagine you have to do a lot of trades and have no other primary job to fall under that definition.

Remember, you only pay taxes on your profits...

I am not a day trader , but do trade when Mr Market is nervous!

It's holdings at 31 December , with a sell date on any holdings from last year that you no longer hold & a buy date for new holdings.

It's the same for bank accounts

my assumption was that you declared all your trades and pay tax on them regardless of whether you are a 'day trader' or not.

i've never heard of this trading distinction in switzerland before - was the guy who told you this british? because there is such a distinction under uk tax law to determine whether gains/losses are taxed as capital or income.

There is no tax on Capital Gains in CH except for immovable property, you might declaire trades to reclaim any dividend taxed at source.

because there's no capital gains tax doesn't mean that it wont be taxed as normal income.

For an individual Profits are not taxable & losses are not tax deductable. As most people loose money it would be foolish to add it to income....

Australia has the same.

No, I was told this by someone in Finance at Novartis. But he wasn't really sure, he just said I should look into it.

Cant help much but I do know that they do make this distinction and the level or trades required to put you in the professional camp is actually very low. How is it then treated? Im not sure.