How high are inheritance taxes in Switzerland?
No such tax exists at the federal level. The inheritance tax is a cantonal tax, based on the net assets transferred to the statutory or designated heirs or other beneficiaries. Increasingly, the cantons are in the process of eliminating the inheritance tax altogether, at least for descendants. Inheritance taxes are imposed by the cantons and communes in the following situations: • Estates of deceased persons having had their last domicile in Switzerland; and • Estates of foreign deceased persons involving the transfer of Swiss real property or unincorporated business enterprises in Switzerland. Rates depend upon the existing relationship (i.e. the relationship between the deceased and the heirs, or between the donor and the donee) and the size of the inheritance or gift. Interspousal gifts and inheritances collected by the surviving spouse are frequently exempt or taxed at very low rates (up to 6%). Gifts to and inheritances received from unrelated persons attract rates ranging from 20
