Hi there,

I just wondered if somebody could tell me what die Mehrwertabschöpfung is?

From the context I believe it is a tax that is NOT levied in Zurich but is in other cantons and is levied for example when a property increases in value (for example rezoning from agricultural to buildable land).

Is this profit tax? Or perhaps real estate transfer tax?

Any help would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,

Little Flea

Basically it's a tax on profits arising from rezoning of land. Up to 60% of the difference in price between (usually) farmland and land for building may be levied by the local authority when a change in zoning turns the former into the latter.

Thank you for your clarification Tom! Is that then the same as Real property/capital gains tax?

No it's not. CGT usually only covers actual profits and can be limited in scope (e.g. main residences are excluded) and/or time (e.g. no CGT after X years have passed since the original purchase), depending on jurisdiction.

I see. Perhaps then 'Property tax'? I found the following definition:

A property tax is an ad valorem levy on the value of property that the owner is required to pay. The tax is levied by the governing authority of the jurisdiction in which the property is located; it may be paid to a national government, a federated state or a municipality.

Is die Grundsteuer the same thing as Mehrwertabschöpfung?

Thanks again for all the help!

Grundsteuer is property tax.

Scenario: Local Autority X has a property tax of .1% and is located in Canton Y, where there's 50% Merhrwertabschöpfung.

Mr. A owns some farmland valued at CHF 10'000, which also happens to be the amount he bought the land for last year. He pays CHF 10 in property tax p.a.
The farmland then becomes building land following a rezoning. It is now valued at CHF 1'000'000.
Mr. A now has to pay CHF 1'000 property tax p.a. But there is also a tax on his windfall from the rezoning, the Merhrwertabschöpfung - in our scenario, where 50% are levied, that's CHF 495'000.

Now lets assume Mr A manages to sell the land to a developer who pays over the odds, let's say CHF 2'000'000. Whether Mr. A will be taxed on his capial gain of CHF 1'495'000 (minus transaction costs etc) depends on CGT legislation.

Your example was great- I think I understand it now

Many thanks for your help Tom!