Contracting in Switzerland
Discussion
You'll need to be contracted through an Umbrella Company over there. They will sort out all the tax liabilities, permits etc...and take a cut of your fee. We use one called Info-Tech out there but there are a number that provide the same service, like these guys http://www.accute.ch/aboutus.htm
Has the agent offered an umbrella company? I'd explore that route first.
I looked into this a couple of years ago and found that you may be liable to dual taxation, as I understand it yuo can operate in one of two ways; Sole Trader (Einzelfirma/La raison individuelle) and the Limited Liability company (GmbH or Gesellschaft mit beschränkte Haftung/SARL or société à responsabilité limitée).
An Einzelfirma costs about SFr1000 to setup. The disadvantages are personal liability and, if you plan to use it to handle long-term contracts with the one client at a time then the social security department could decide that the relationship between you and the client is one of employment and start making your life difficult.
The GmbH is the closest thing to a UK Ltd. You require two initial founders who must supply minimum SFr10,000 (i.e. SFr20,000) each as the start capital (Stammgeld) for the company. The two founders must be resident in Switzerland. The value of the company at any time must be at least SFr20,000. To setup a GmbH you need the help of a lawyer who will draw up the company statutes setting out the business area of the company and the legal obligations of the directors.
I looked into this a couple of years ago and found that you may be liable to dual taxation, as I understand it yuo can operate in one of two ways; Sole Trader (Einzelfirma/La raison individuelle) and the Limited Liability company (GmbH or Gesellschaft mit beschränkte Haftung/SARL or société à responsabilité limitée).
An Einzelfirma costs about SFr1000 to setup. The disadvantages are personal liability and, if you plan to use it to handle long-term contracts with the one client at a time then the social security department could decide that the relationship between you and the client is one of employment and start making your life difficult.
The GmbH is the closest thing to a UK Ltd. You require two initial founders who must supply minimum SFr10,000 (i.e. SFr20,000) each as the start capital (Stammgeld) for the company. The two founders must be resident in Switzerland. The value of the company at any time must be at least SFr20,000. To setup a GmbH you need the help of a lawyer who will draw up the company statutes setting out the business area of the company and the legal obligations of the directors.
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