Swiss Federal Corona State Aid Programs

In March 2020, the Swiss Federal Council has ordered significant restrictions on all individuals and undertakings. For most undertakings, the restrictions have direct (e.g. closing orders) or indirect (e.g. travel restrictions) financial consequences. These restrictions pose existential challenges for many undertakings and self-employed individuals.

In order to support the undertakings and self-employed individuals, the Swiss Federal Council pledged over CHF 60 billion in emergency support to the Swiss economy. In addition, following measures were ordered:

• A nationwide temporary standstill for debt enforcement
• Interest free extension of deadlines in tax matters: Temporary deferral of payment for VAT, customs, special tax on consumption and incentive taxes
• Deferment of payment for social security contributions (old-age and survivor’s insurance, disability insurance, loss of earnings and unemployment insurance)

However, as the situation continually develops, it is not easy to track the various forms of state aids and the implementation of specific programs. Our corporate team is following the developments on an ongoing basis and share a summary with the public under the following link here.

We will be updating the summary with more details as to eligibility criteria and application procedures once these become clearer.

For further information or assistance, please do not hesitate to contact the following partners at the Geneva and Zurich offices:

André Brunschweiler – abrunschweiler@lalive.law

Daniel Lucien Bühr – dbuhr@lalive.law

Sandrine Giroud – sgiroud@lalive.law

Simone Nadelhofer – snadelhofer@lalive.law

Alexander Troller – atroller@lalive.law

Jean-Paul Vulliéty – jpvulliety@lalive.law