Author: news.admin.ch
Source: Federal Council press release
Publication date: 05 Dec 2025
Reading time: approx. 3 minutes
Executive Summary
The Federal Council is launching the consultation on revising the Value Added Tax Act. Core elements are the extension of platform taxation to electronic services and lower thresholds for the uniform taxation of tourism packages. The reform promises net budget-neutral effects but tightens regulation and supervisory powers—including potential website blocking. Executives should now assess how the new reporting and compliance duties affect digital business models and whether pricing structures in tourism need adjustment.
Critical Guiding Questions
- Freedom: Do website blocks restrict market access for international providers or consumer choice?
- Responsibility: Who bears the compliance costs—platform operators, producers of digital content, or end users?
- Transparency & Innovation: Do more complex rules truly create fairness, or do they hamper digital innovation through legal uncertainty?
Scenario Analysis: Future Perspectives
| Time horizon | Expected development |
|---|---|
| Short term (1 year) | Platforms calculate additional costs, begin evaluating geo-blocking; tourism businesses analyse package prices. |
| Medium term (5 years) | Consolidation of small providers, more automated tax APIs; political pressure grows to limit website blocking. |
| Long term (10–20 years) | The VAT system could switch to real-time transaction data; digital border charges might partly replace traditional VAT. |
Key Summary
Core topic & context
The bill implements two parliamentary motions:
- Platform taxation for digital goods (apps, games, streaming).
- Lowering the 70 % threshold for mixed services to 55 %.
Key facts & figures
- Since 01 Jan 2025 platforms already tax physical online goods.
- Extending this to digital services yields additional revenue in the low double-digit million range.
- Lowering the threshold triggers similarly high revenue losses.
- Website blocking as a sanctioning tool of the FTA.
- Consultation runs until 19 Mar 2026.
- ⚠️ Detailed forecasts on the number of affected platforms are missing.
Stakeholders & impacted parties
- Digital platforms (app stores, streaming portals)
- Tourism businesses & hotels
- Consumers of digital content
- Federal Tax Administration (FTA)
Opportunities & risks
| Opportunities | Risks |
|---|---|
| Equal treatment of domestic and foreign vendors | High compliance costs for SME platforms |
| Potentially greater tax equity | Website blocks endanger an open internet |
| Clearer rules for package offers in tourism | Price increases & competitive distortions |
Action relevance
Decision-makers should, in the short term:
- Map revenue streams from digital services.
- Evaluate automated tax remittance.
- Consider lobbying against intrusive website blocks.
Tourism businesses should recalculate package shares to safeguard margins.
Quality Assurance & Fact-Checking
- [ ] Key statements and figures verified
- [ ] Unconfirmed