Shares in %
2023 receipts
Value added tax: 25 148 mn
Direct federal tax: 27 835 mn
Withholding tax: 6 445 mn
Mineral oil tax: 4 341 mn
Stamp duty: 2 181 mn
Tobacco duty: 2 025 mn
Other tax receipts: 6 809 mn
Nontax receipts: 3 821 mn
Investment receipts: 1 002 mn
VAT accounted for 31.6% of receipts, making it the most important source of receipts for the Confederation, together with direct federal tax. Domestic consumption is taxed. This includes the acquisition of domestic goods and services, as well as imports. Exports are not subject to VAT.
Direct federal tax accounted for 35.0% of receipts. Together with value added tax, it was thus the most important source of receipts for the Confederation. Direct federal tax is levied on the income of natural persons and on the net revenue of legal entities. The proportions of income tax and profit tax receipts were more or less balanced at 48% and 52%, respectively, of direct federal tax. The 2023 receipts were derived mainly from taxable income and profits from 2022. Starting in 2026, receipts from the supplementary tax are to be expected with the implementation of OECD minimum taxation.
Withholding tax accounted for 8.1% of total receipts. Withholding tax is designed as a safeguard tax for direct taxes, and is intended to ensure that income from movable capital assets is taxed (especially dividends and interest income). The receipts arise from the difference between funds received and reimbursed (including the provision for future refunds), and can fluctuate considerably from year to year.
The consumption tax levied on petroleum and fuel, among other things, amounted to 5.5% of total receipts. Around three quarters of these receipts are earmarked for road transportation and aviation (60% of the basic tax and all of the surtax). Receipts have been trending downward since 2008. On the one hand, vehicle engines are becoming more efficient, and on the other hand, the number of electric vehicles is increasing.
Stamp duty accounted for 2.7% of total receipts. Transfer stamp tax, which accounts for more than half of stamp duty, is levied on purchases and sales of Swiss and foreign securities. The revenue from transfer stamp tax depends primarily on the volume of taxable securities turnover of Swiss securities dealers. The issue tax on the accumulation of net assets/equity fluctuates considerably, as it depends on the equity requirements of companies. The third component is insurance premium stamp duty, which is collected on certain insurance premiums, and whose trend is relatively stable.
Tobacco duty accounted for 2.5% of receipts. It is levied on domestically manufactured and imported tobacco products and substitutes. The revenue is used to co-finance the federal AHV contribution. Receipts have been trending downward since 2012, falling by around 2% annually.
Other tax receipts consist essentially of transportation levies (e.g. heavy vehicle charge and motorway tax), incentive fees (e.g. CO2 tax), the grid supplement fund and import duties. They accounted for 8.6% of total receipts in 2023. Starting in 2024, import duties on industrial products will be abolished; only duties on agricultural products will remain.
Nontax receipts accounted for 4.8%. Among other things, they include receipts from royalties and concessions, such as the base amount of the SNB profit distribution. There were no such profit distributions in 2023, and only the base amount (667 mn) is budgeted from 2024 onward. Nontax receipts also include items such as the military service exemption tax, cantonal contributions (e.g. cantonal contributions to the railway infrastructure fund), miscellaneous receipts (e.g. building receipts) and financial receipts (e.g. interest receipts).
Investment receipts accounted for roughly 1.2% of total federal receipts. In 2023, more than three quarters of these receipts came from dividend distributions by companies with a federal stake (e.g. Swisscom, Swiss Post, RUAG). Other investment receipts are generated by the repayment of loans, the sale of tangible fixed assets, and the repayment of own investment contributions.
Development of 2023 receipts
in CHF bn and % of GDP
Note: data for 2025 to 2027 based on latest budget assessment
In 2023, receipts surged by 5.2% (+4.0 bn), thereby considerably outstripping nominal GDP growth (+2.3%). As a result, the receipt ratio rose from 9.7% to 10.0% of GDP.
Development of selected 2023 receipts
in CHF mn and %
Receipts of 79.6 billion were recognized in 2023, which was 5.2%, or 4.0 billion, more than in fiscal 2022. This growth was heavily influenced by considerably higher receipts from direct federal tax (+3.1 bn) and withholding tax (+2.6 bn).
Receipts from taxes on the net revenue of legal entities surged by 2.2 billion in 2023. Aside from the strong growth recorded in 2022, the main tax year, it was above all the receipts from tax periods prior to 2022 that soared. Receipts generated by the income tax of natural persons were up by 0.8 billion. Both receipts from the main tax period (2022) and from earlier tax periods contributed to this good result. The sharp increase in withholding tax receipts (+2.6 bn) was attributable to estimate corrections concerning earlier years.
However, there was no SNB profit distribution in 2023 (-2 bn).
Data
Detailed data for longer periods are available under the following links:
- Link data portal
- Link Open Government Data
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Last modification 25.03.2024