Tax Lawyer in Geneva

Assessment and objection

From the notification of the assessment notice, a 30-day deadline runs to file a reasoned objection with the cantonal tax administration. In the event of a discretionary assessment, issued when no tax return has been filed, the reconstruction rests on the administration's own estimate, almost always unfavourable to the taxpayer. We draft the objection, reconstruct the missing elements and, where necessary, bring the dispute before the Administrative Court of First Instance, the Administrative Chamber of the Court of Justice and then the Federal Supreme Court.

The discretionary assessment calls for one clarification: it is not contested like an ordinary assessment. The taxpayer must show that the administration's estimate is manifestly inaccurate, which means producing the complete return and supporting documents within the same 30-day deadline. After that, the assessment becomes final and only a revision, under strict conditions, remains possible. That is why we systematically ask for the exact notification date of the assessment notice on the first call.

Tax audits and requests for information from the AFC

A tax audit rarely starts with an accusation. It starts with a letter asking for explanations about an item in the return: foreign-source income, an unexplained change in wealth, professional expenses, a loan between relatives, the substance of a company. The answer given to that first request shapes everything that follows. A tax lawyer checks what the administration is entitled to demand, what falls under the duty to cooperate and what does not have to be produced, then builds a response consistent with earlier and later tax periods. Geneva tax audits have intensified with the automated analysis of filing data and the automatic exchange of information.

Tax at source, cross-border workers and quasi-residents

Persons taxed at source may request the correction of their statement or a subsequent ordinary assessment, allowing them to claim deductions not taken into account: pension buy-backs, mortgage interest, childcare costs. The request is subject to a strict annual deadline, generally set at 31 March of the following year. It is a recurring question among cross-border workers and newcomers.

Quasi-resident status concerns the cross-border worker who earns most of their worldwide income in Switzerland. It opens access to the same deductions as a resident, often worth several thousand francs a year. But the request must be made within the deadline, with the corresponding French supporting documents. Many taxpayers living in Haute-Savoie or the Ain discover this mechanism after the deadline. Our Annecy office allows us to handle both the Swiss and French sides in the same file.

Lump-sum taxation, tax domicile and moving to Switzerland

Expenditure-based taxation, commonly known as the lump-sum tax regime, remains open to foreign nationals without gainful activity in Switzerland. Negotiating it with the AFC, articulating it with double taxation treaties and ensuring its compatibility with assets held abroad require preparation before relocation, not after.

The prior question is that of tax domicile. Liability does not depend on the declared address but on the effective centre of personal interests: where the family lives, economic ties, length of stay. A home split between France and Switzerland, a move during the year or a regularly used second home are all situations both administrations examine closely, with a risk of double taxation at stake. Geneva lump-sum arrangements are negotiated within this framework, taking into account cantonal thresholds and the need to demonstrate the absence of gainful activity in Switzerland.

Supplementary tax, evasion and voluntary disclosure

Where an assessment proves incomplete, the administration may open a supplementary tax procedure covering the last ten periods, together, where applicable, with a fine for tax evasion. The one-time non-punishable voluntary disclosure allows income or assets never declared to be reported without a fine, with taxes and interest remaining due. It cannot be improvised: it must be prepared and documented.

The central condition is spontaneity. If the administration already knows of the elements, for example through the automatic exchange of information, the disclosure is no longer admissible and the fine becomes due again. The window is therefore narrow and it closes without warning. We first quantify the exposure over the ten years, reconstruct the banking and inheritance documentation, then file a complete dossier in one go. This method avoids the main mistake we see: a partial disclosure, which uses up the only voluntary disclosure available without covering the whole situation.

International taxation: AEOI, BEPS and minimum taxation

The framework has changed. The automatic exchange of information has put an end to the opacity of accounts held abroad. The OECD's BEPS work has tightened the rules applicable to international groups, and the GloBE Pillar 2 minimum tax now concerns the large groups present in Geneva. For an executive as for an international family, the practical consequence is the same: tax optimisation no longer holds unless it rests on real economic substance and solid documentation. That is where the advice of a tax lawyer in Geneva is decided today.