Zug-based raw materials group Glencore takes the crown: The company paid CHF2841 million in worldwide income taxes in 2021. That’s the conclusion of the tax arrangement for «commercial newspaper». In second and third place are Nestle with 2,616 million globally, and Roche with 2,463 million.
Global income taxes for the 10 largest Swiss companies
| company | Global Income Tax 2021 |
| Glencore | 2841 million Swiss francs |
| Nestle | 2616 million Swiss francs |
| rush | 2463 million Swiss francs |
| Novartis | 2176 million Swiss francs |
| Zurich | 1508 million Swiss francs |
| UPS | 1450 million Swiss francs |
| fig | 983 million Swiss francs |
| creditswiss | 801 million Swiss francs |
| Swiss Life | 406 million Swiss francs |
| Swiss Re | 365 million Swiss francs |
But beware: anyone who pays a particularly large amount worldwide isn’t necessarily #1 with local tax authorities. The ranking of Switzerland’s largest taxpayers looks a little different: Glencore is only No. 5 (448 million Swiss francs). At the top of the list is Roche (961 million francs), followed by Novartis (762 million) and Nestle (700 million).
Striking: UBS is much more profitable for the Swiss tax authorities than its rival Credit Suisse. Last year, UBS paid 632 million Swiss francs in taxes in Switzerland, placing it fourth, while CS paid only 316 million Swiss francs (8th).
A number of large companies that are hard to have an international say are also important to Swiss taxpayers, including retailers Coop, Migros and cooperative bank Raiffeisen.
Several state or state-owned companies also make it among the largest taxpayers in Switzerland, namely Swisscom, Post and SBB.
Switzerland’s largest taxpayer
| company | Switzerland income taxes 2021 |
| rush | 961 million Swiss francs |
| Novartis | 762 million Swiss francs |
| Nestle | 700 million Swiss francs |
| UPS | 632 million Swiss francs |
| Glencore | 448 million Swiss francs |
| Swisscom | 339 million Swiss francs |
| creditswiss | 316 million Swiss francs |
| Zurich | 266 million Swiss francs |
| Raiffeisen | 183 million Swiss francs |
| barn | 169 million Swiss francs |
| Migros | 153 million Swiss francs |
| Logitech | 145 million Swiss francs |
| Universe | 110 million Swiss francs |
| Julius Baer | 99 million Swiss francs |
| Post office | 96 million Swiss francs |
| Fontobelle | 83 million Swiss francs |
| House furniture | 57 million Swiss francs |
| Ems-Chemie | 53 million Swiss francs |
| Lombard Odier | 34 million Swiss francs |
| SBB | 34 million Swiss francs |
| stadler railway | 17 million Swiss francs |
On average, Swiss multinationals pay a third of the taxes due in Switzerland worldwide. This is despite the fact that some of them only operate their corporate headquarters here, but they manage most of their sales abroad. This is a thorn in the side of the left circles in particular. Among other things, they accuse the companies of exploitation. On the other hand, the middle classes see this as an excuse to continue promoting the site and maintaining businesses in the country.
Geneva-based raw materials dealer Trafigura is out of the line: Trafigura is headquartered on Lake Geneva. Legally speaking, the company moved to Holland and Singapore a few years ago. Since then, Trafigura has paid just 11 percent of its global taxes in Switzerland. Other countries collect the rest.
The ranking is based on the information companies provide in their annual reports and Handelszeitung estimates. (sfa)
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