2023-11-13 04:43:48
Keller-Sutter wants to ask shopping tourists to pay more
Previously the limit was 300 francs. Goods purchased abroad should now be taxed at customs starting from half the amount. But there are tricks.
In the future, only half as much as before will be allowed to be imported tax-free.
Photo: Keystone
Swiss retailers have been waiting for this for a long time: the federal government wants to impose higher taxes on purchases across the border when they are imported. Specifically, the so-called value-free limit is to be halved from 300 to 150 francs. Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (FDP) wants to add Swiss VAT to this amount in the future. Several sources have confirmed this to this editorial team. The Federal Council will soon start a corresponding consultation.
The state government does not do this entirely voluntarily. For a long time she saw no need for action because she feared problems with enforcement. The former finance and customs minister Ueli Maurer even spoke of a “mission impossible”. In view of the many cross-border commuters, he warned of kilometer-long traffic jams at customs and of disproportionate effort.
Maurer has since resigned. And Keller-Sutter, a St. Gallen resident, has taken over the department. As a former professional representative of a border canton, she is familiar with the consequences of shopping tourism.
Federal Councilor Karin Keller-Sutter is carrying out what her predecessor Ueli Maurer described as a “mission impossible”.
Photo: Keystone
Above all, however, Parliament forced the Federal Council to act. A good two years ago, both the National Council and the Council of States approved several binding proposals that called for an end to the “subsidization of shopping tourism”. The same length of spit is required in retail on both sides of the border.
This is not the case today: anyone who purchases abroad can reclaim the local VAT. To do this, you have to have an export certificate stamped at customs, which happens millions of times every year at the German border alone. This is possible from a so-called trivial limit of 50 euros.
When imported into Switzerland, however, purchases only have to be taxed if they exceed a total value of 300 francs. This means that anyone who purchases between 50 euros and 300 francs in Germany can do so completely free of VAT. This gives shopping tourism a competitive advantage.
More tax fairness demanded
Of course, this bothers the Swiss retailers, who speak of unfair competition. In addition to high wages and the strong franc, they face a tax disadvantage. Because while their customers have to pay VAT, shopping tourists can avoid it. This is one reason why Swiss people spend more than 8 billion francs shopping abroad every year.
Retailers in border regions are particularly affected – for example in the cantons of St. Gallen and Thurgau. Both eastern Swiss cantons have therefore presented a professional initiative in Bern. In it they call for the abolition of the value-free limit of currently 300 francs. In addition to these two initiatives, Parliament also approved a binding motion from the National Council Finance Commission, which also calls for an “improvement of tax justice”.
Keller-Sutter now wants to take this into account. Although she doesn’t want to completely abolish the value-free limit, she would like to halve it from 300 to 150 francs. Shopping tourists in Germany could still buy between 50 euros and 150 francs without VAT. The same applies to Austria and France, where the de minimis limit is 75 euros and 100 euros, respectively. Italy, on the other hand, has a limit of 155 euros.
An app makes a lot of things easier
Halving the Swiss value-free limit is likely to become a greater challenge for customs. Will there be traffic jams and chaos as Ueli Maurer feared?
A federal app called Quickzoll helps against this. It can be used to settle VAT and customs duties without having to bother an official. You can record purchases in the app before you cross the border. It then checks, taking into account the allowances and the value-free limit, whether you actually have to pay customs duty or VAT. If so, she pays the amount using the credit card.
Thanks to this app, goods can be imported at any border crossing. All you need to do is specify a two-hour time slot. But the app also has a disadvantage: it charges the regular VAT rate of 7.7 percent for all goods – even for food, which is actually subject to a reduced rate of 2.5 percent.
Shop more often, but shop less
There are, of course, several tricks to be able to make purchases tax-free even with a lower value-free threshold. For example, you can travel abroad more often and shop less each time. However, you have to do this over several days. The value exemption limit may only be claimed once per day and person.
Another trick is to go shopping with the whole family or friends. The value exemption limit can be claimed per person – including children. A family of four can currently shop tax-free for 1,200 francs and will probably be able to shop for 600 francs in the future.
However, if the family buys a single product whose value exceeds the exemption limit of 300 or 150 francs, they still have to pay tax on it. You cannot divide an item among several people. VAT is also due on the entire amount if it is above the exemption limit. The latter cannot therefore be deducted from this.
“We are glad that the unequal treatment of shopping tourists and Swiss customers is being addressed.”
Swiss retailers welcome the planned tightening. “We are glad that the unequal treatment of shopping tourists and Swiss customers when it comes to VAT is finally being addressed,” says Dagmar Jenni, director of the Swiss Retail Federation. In order for an effect to be achieved, the value-free limit must be further reduced. The retailers had suggested 50 francs.
There are also words of approval from Eastern Switzerland. “This is a pragmatic approach,” says St. Gallen economics director Beat Tinner. And his Thurgau colleague Walter Schönholzer speaks of a “step in the right direction”. Kurt Egger, the driving force behind the Thurgau class initiative, added that he had almost lost hope because of the administration’s resistance for years. Now he is “glad that something is finally moving”. Many believe that replacing the customs director this spring helped.
Sara Stalder from the Consumer Protection Foundation is less happy. She talks about “fighting symptoms,” which has little effect and may even lead to more trips abroad. She hopes that the reduction in the value-free limit will ultimately be less significant and perhaps set at 250 francs.
An earlier version mentioned a French de minimis limit of 175 euros. However, this was reduced to 100 euros.
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