Company Domiciliation Ticino: 2 things to know!

Are you considering domiciliation in Ticino?
So, before proceeding, you need to be aware of a few very important things that will definitely serve your company well.

First of all, you should know that GROT (Growing realities of tomorrow), performs these services for you of DOMICILIATION AND TRUST SERVICES.

So, if this article is not exhaustive and you would like more information or to have someone in the industry do this for you, you can choose GROT.
What you need to do is click hereto get in touch with our experts!
But let us explain in greater detail what is meant by domiciliation in Ticino.

Company Domiciliation Ticino: some things to know!

1. Introduction
2. Case
3. Conclusion

INTRODUCTION

First of all, you need to know that a feature of Swiss federalism is intercantonal tax competition, so it is important to know this state and its cantons well in order to succeed in corporate domiciliation.

With the introduction of the tax reform and financing of the OASI (RFFA)The popular vote on 19 May 2019 led the cantons to introduce measures to help them maintain their attractiveness to the many international companies.
One of these was the lowering of cantonal tax rates on the profits of simple companies to legal entities.
You can well imagine how this has made domiciliation in Ticino one of the most attractive companies, thanks precisely to the tax burden on companies.

Another favourable aspect of domiciliation Ticino society is due to this historical period, in which mobility is very favourable thanks also to digitisation processes.

For these two reasons, many companies decide to move the domicile of their company to cantons, perhaps to Ticino, which allow for greater tax savings.

However, the location factor must be kept in mind.
If you decide to move your location or simply some activities to a particular canton, but not your corporate domicile, this could put a strain on your business.
For, not only would it render the efforts and costs you have incurred in relocating to a more tax-attractive canton futile, but above all it could result in the subordination being claimed by more than one canton, i.e. the canton of domicile and the canton of administration.

Therefore, it is essential, as we said before, to know the tax administration and charges.
This is why there are companies set up for these services, such as GROTwhich allow you to rest easy and have no problems, because they are familiar with the country's tax laws.

THE CASE 

Regarding what we have just talked about, we can give you an example of a real-life case of domiciliation in Ticino to better understand the theoretical principle behind it.

Statutory seat vs. effective administration, Judgment 80.2019.309/310 of the Chamber of Tax Law (CDT) of the Canton of Ticino

This ruling of the Tax Law Chamber (CDT) reminds us that the headquarters of a company is that place where there is a subjugation by personal affiliation; if not, it represents an address that is then characterised by a lack of close ties to the territory and the absence of important infrastructure.

Moreover, if there is no infrastructure and personnel at the location, employed in commercial and administrative functions, the company could be in trouble.
This is because it conceals the reality and therefore would not be sufficient to configure the actual administration of the company there.

To summarise this ruling, according to doctrine and case law, the elements that are to be considered as a formal and fictitious registered office of the company are:

• absence of personnel;
• absence of offices;
• of structures;
• of a telephone line
• meetings of corporate bodies are not held there.

So, once again, it must be remembered that if you move the domiciliation company Ticino things have to be done right and you have to be conscious, which is why there are realities like GROT who put their knowledge at your service.

In general, we can say that doctrine and jurisprudence define effective administration as the current management of a company.
If we want to better explain the Ticino company domicile, referring to the above ruling, we have to say that the Office for the Taxation of Legal Entities of the Canton of Ticino subjected a Sagl with its registered office in another canton to unlimited taxation because of its effective administration in Ticino.

To put it simply, this Sagl appeared to have two partners (who were spouses) domiciled in Ticino and a manager who was the husband.

The tax declaration forms of the canton were sent to the private address of the spouses, the same for the tax notification and the declaration forms, all in the canton of Ticino.
The only employee was one of the two partners and the activity was the management of an architectural office, according to the company name written in Italian, located in a non-Italian-speaking canton.

Understand well, that as strange as it sounds to you, it also sounded strange to the CDT, which thought it unlikely that the only employee domiciled in Ticino was carrying out his activities in another canton, where he did not even have an office of his own.

Finally, the CDT considered relevant the fact that the Sagl was established in the canton of domicile, the day after the cancellation in the commercial register of the canton of Ticino of the sole proprietorship of the Sagl's manager himself.

We must therefore point out in connection with the domiciliation of companies in Ticino that the Federal Supreme Court has ruled that if there are important infrastructures, such as offices and personnel at the location of the company's registered office, it is up to the tax authority to prove that the actual administration is exercised at another location.
In the absence of these infrastructures, and if the subjection proves to be untrue, as in the previous case, it will be up to the taxpayer to prove the actual transfer of seat.
Still referring to the case we analysed, the taxpayer did not report any evidence of the presence of offices or personnel in the canton of domicile.

Thus, the CDT had no doubt that the location was purely formal and that all business was conducted in the Canton of Ticino, where it should therefore have been domiciled.

CONCLUSIONS

To conclude and summarise what has been written so far, before proceeding with a Ticino company domiciliation, you must be familiar with the context and tax elements of this canton. You must also be very careful with any intercantonal transfer if it is used as a fictitious one in order to pay, essentially, less tax.
Therefore, it is good to assess all the information and variables that will lead you to a Ticino company domiciliation.
Remember, you don't need to do this yourself, there are service companies that take care of many aspects, including domiciliation in Ticino.
GROT is one of these, so what are you waiting for to click here and fill in the form for a free contact to better understand your issues and situation.