- The Swiss VAT draft clarifies that a “donation” is a voluntary contribution to a non-affiliated person without any expected consideration; mere neutral mention of the donor in a publication is not consideration, even if the donor’s name/logo is used.
- Contributions from public authorities are generally treated as subsidies, not donations.
- Donations may be made in cash or as in-kind support (e.g., personnel, premises, materials) to non-affiliated third parties.
- For in-kind support to closely related persons, a taxable supply exists under Swiss VAT rules, and the taxable base is determined under the VAT Act’s valuation rules.
- Sponsorship remains distinct from donations: if the recipient provides advertising services in return, the payment is taxable sponsorship income; neutral mention of the payer is not advertising/sponsorship.
Source: estv.admin.ch
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
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