Hi,

I was brought to this forum by this post Geneva or not Geneva through a google search.I have the same question but it is still unanswered.
I am a consultant at the UN in Geneva and currently have a type "H" carte de legitimation. I need to know if I am subject to payment of income taxes/or any kind of tax in Switzerland. I researched a lot on the matter but could find nothing online, the UN HR did not seem to bother with my question so i called the swiss authorities but got even more confusing answers. The bureau de l'administration fiscal du canton de geneve, geneva's revenue service administration, said that i am exempted from taxes, when i asked them to give me an attestation stating this they told me to call the swiss mission saying they can issue it. But when i called there, the guy said that it does not matter if i am a UN consultant because as long as i have a type H carte de legitimation i should be paying taxes like any other resident. I turned to the UN again and found this document http://consultants.unctad.org/Docume...Conditions.pdf from which i understood that UN consultants are tax exempt ( paragragh 15. TAXATION).
Can someone point me in the right direction?
thanks

Ask this man, he works at UN in Geneva,

http://www.englishforum.ch/members/1412-grynch.html

Most consultants working for the UN are not considered to be UN officials, and therefore do not benefit from UN staff privileges when it comes to taxation. From what I know (based on my experience of one UN org in Geneva), you do need to declare your taxes.

However, I can't help you much when it comes to how you go about it. I have a B permit - and since my assignment was relatively short, I was told I could just add my income to my husband's tax return. I've just looked up type "H" cartes de legitimation, and official documents state that it brings no privileges or immunities...

I think that there was a similar discussion on the Geneva Consultants LinkedIn group page. If you don't get the information you need here, you might be able to find it there. Good luck!

Paragraph 15 says that the UN is exempt from taxes, not you. Paragraph 1 says you are not a UN employee.

paragraph 1 of the document mentions the contractor, so does paragraph 15 where it says
.

Does the Swiss government refuse to recognize these exemptions?
regards

Are you a contractor or a consultant?

No. But you are not the United Nations. You're a contractor (as per para 1).

Why don't you quote the rest of para 15 where it says that WRT taxation, you're on your own and it's none of UN's business?

Tom, he is a "Consultant" and he is normally telling people what needs to be done, not being told what he needs to do.

Quite honestly I don't give a fig whether he pays taxes or not. He hasn't introduced himself, he has arrived here demanding expert tax advice and he can't read a document and understand it. He seems to lack any manners, I suggest you ignore him.

He is a "Contractor" (with a capital "C") for the purpose of the UN General Conditions.

Heh

look i did not mean to be rude. I apologize if you felt i was. I am indeed asking for advice. the document i referenced is titled "GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CONTRACTS FOR THE SERVICES OF CONSULTANTS OR INDIVIDUAL CONTRACTORS". I am a consultant, not an individual contractor. Paragraph 15 talks about contractors in general, in the context of the document, the contractor can be a consultant or an individual contractor.please correct me if i am wrong. Anyway, it's just a document i found on the website, i don't know how far it dates back, i don't even know if the conditions it mentioned still apply.

maybe i did not properly understand the paragraph. but i am more than happy to listen.thanks!

Paragraph 1 = Does mention the contractor. It says the contractor is not part of the UN.

Paragraph 15 = The UN does not have to pay taxes. You are not part of the UN.

They way I interpret it is for example, you bill the UN. Normally you have add VAT. But since the UN is exempt, you can't charge VAT. If the gov't comes back and insists to collect VAT from you, then they will help you work that out.

But let's hope Grynch will have a word.

Welcome and all that. But I am always amazed that people ask this sort of question on an Internet Forum. Surely the best place to ask is with the admin/hr at your place of work- and make absolutely sure. When and if the tax office catches up with you, what will you say 'sorry, I was told on a Forum I didn't have to pay taxes'?. It won't work. So ask in the proper place, where they know what you do and how and when and the exact regulations.

Then come back for a friendly chat later. An introduction would be nice. Bienvenu en Suisse

In the OP's defence, I had also found it quite difficult to get any information regarding these matters from admin/HR. The problem is that they do not see it as their responsibility to provide income tax related information to consultants, even though I imagine that it is a recurrent issue.

That being said... @OP - MiniMia has explained the paragraphs you were asking about clearly. In addition, the fact that you have an "H" carte de legitimation reinforces the idea that you have to pay taxes.

And to be fair, she did get two different answers. My guess is the first "no tax" answer was a misunderstand that the OP was a UN employee. Plus some consultants may have tax liabilities to other countries, etc.

It's really up to the individual to figure out this stuff themselves with consultation with the local authorities. The problem is if you don't lay it all out to the authorities, they won't know how to answer 100% correctly.

Hi,
I know this was a long time ago but wondering what was the tax outcome of your situation?
Thanks!