Impact of STAF measures in the canton of Berne in line with expectations

The STAF measures particularly benefit companies that are innovative, invest in Bern as a centre of industry and drive forward patent-protected developments. Of the 200 companies mentioned, a low double-digit number have applied for reductions on income from patents – the so-called patent box deduction. The deduction for research and development was claimed around ten times more frequently.

Not all of these 200 companies have yet been definitively assessed. As of today, the tax administration of the Canton of Bern assumes that the corresponding tax revenue for the 2020 tax year has developed in line with the estimates in the presentation, as tax administrator Claudio Fischer said today (23.01.2024) at the annual media conference of the tax administration of the Canton of Bern: “The cantonal government had estimated a CHF 15 million shortfall in cantonal tax revenue.” The STAF deductions claimed were slightly higher than expected. In its presentation to the Grand Council, the Government Council had assumed deductions totalling CHF 52 million. “But the cantonal tax income of these companies – where already assessed – and the former status companies is also higher for 2020 than in 2019,” says Claudio Fischer.

With the comprehensive design of the STAF measures, the canton of Bern has reduced the profit tax burden for companies that can make maximum use of these measures by almost 9 per cent to 12.24 per cent. “This reduces the tax gap between us and numerous cantons. We are even overtaking some of them in this special ranking of tax attractiveness,” explained Claudio Fischer.

Following the corresponding Grand Council resolution, the Canton of Bern tax administration launched the general revaluation (AN20) of non-agricultural properties in 2020. The valuations of all 730,000 properties have been revised as at the end of 2023. 1,700 of a total of almost 13,000 objections were still pending.

The AN20 criticised the evaluation system as non-transparent, complicated and expensive. In a motion, the Grand Council has called for the introduction of a simpler valuation methodology for future revaluations. The tax administration is demonstrating how the official valuation could be reformed with the “NewAB” project launched at the start of 2022: “We compared eight valuation systems from selected cantons and submitted a variant study with three valuation methods to the cantonal government. We can now further develop the variant based on land and building insurance values,” explained Claudio Fischer. A key requirement for “NewAB” is to be able to carry out automated revaluations at shorter intervals in future.

With the revision of the tax law that came into force on 1 January 2024, the canton of Bern is standardising the tax treatment of solar thermal and photovoltaic systems and additionally promoting the construction of such systems. At the same time, various new requirements under federal law are being implemented. Furthermore, the maximum deduction for the costs of third-party childcare will be increased from CHF 12,000 to CHF 16,000. The aim is to improve the compatibility of work and family life.

As of 1 January 2024, the cold progression in tax rates and deductions for cantonal and municipal taxes will be fully offset. Since the last comprehensive equalisation of cold progression in the canton of Bern in the 2011 tax year, the accumulated inflation had reached a total of 3 percent by the end of 2022. Thanks to the equalisation, for example, the child deduction is now CHF 8,300 (+ CHF 300 compared to tax year 2023). In addition, the approximately 633,000 taxpayers can now claim a maximum of CHF 7,000 in travelling expenses (+ CHF 300) and CHF 12,500 in education and training costs (+ CHF 500).