Open a Holding Company in Switzerland

If you want to open a holding company in Switzerland, you must follow the same rules as for any other business; however, there are also specific aspects to consider. Our lawyers can advise and assist with the creation of such an enterprise.

What is a Swiss holding company?

A holding company is an entity created with the purpose of investment and management of other businesses, called subsidiaries. It is important to note that in Switzerland, the special cantonal holding status was abolished on 1 January 2020; holdings now benefit from the participation deduction.

What are the conditions for a Swiss company to be considered a holding?

The following:

• its core activities are owning various types of assets and their management;
• under the former cantonal holding status (abolished in 2020), at least 2/3 of its assets or income had to derive from participations;
• the Articles of Association must clearly stipulate that the object of activity of the company is investment and/or asset management.

What are the steps to open a holding company in Switzerland?

The following:

• business form selection;
• trading name availability check (there is no formal name reservation);
• documents drafting – Memorandum and Articles of Association;
• bank account opening for depositing the share capital;
• documents filing with the Commercial Register;
• tax registration.

We can guide you through the entire registration procedure. Our lawyers can also put you in contact with their Dutch partners in case you are thinking of starting a company in the Netherlands.  Furthermore, if you intend to open a company in Denmark, we can put you in contact with our Danish partners.

What are the legal forms a holding company can take in Switzerland?

• Private limited liability company, which requires a minimum capital of CHF 20,000;
• Joint stock corporation, which requires a minimum capital of CHF 100,000.

NOTE: Our lawyers in Switzerland can advise on choosing the suitable structure based on the size of the company.

What types of holding companies can I set up in Switzerland?

• the pure holding company: created to own shares in other subsidiaries without carrying out other operational activities;
• the management holding: created to own shares, manage and coordinate the operations of the subsidiaries without day-to-day interventions;
• the operating holding: created to be actively involved in the management and operations of its subsidiaries;
• the financial holding: created to invest in financial assets.

What are the tax benefits of a holding company in Switzerland?

In order to benefit from the vast network of double tax treaties signed by Switzerland over the years is necessary to keep at least 10% of the shares with the voting rights attached to it from a company.

The qualified income, such as dividends, capital gains and liquidation dividends, can remain exempt from the corporate income tax if certain conditions are met, such as receiving dividends from a subsidiary where the holding company keeps at least 10% of the nominal share capital or the value of the participation has a market value of at least CHF 1 million.

The exemption is also granted on the capital gains which come from the concession of at least 10% of the subsidiary’s nominal share capital, but in this case the shares must have been held for at least 12 months.

Because of all the above, a holding company is considered an advantageous investment vehicle by local and foreign investors. Please contact our Swiss law firm if you want to set up a holding company in Switzerland.