In Switzerland, the income from interest or dividends on securities is taxed the same way as income. Not taxed as income are capital gains, while their losses cannot be deducted. Swiss withholding taxation on income from securities is offset with other owed taxes.
Income from securities and investments can either be deducted as a lump-sum of 3% of the securities value or as the actual administrative costs.
Interest and dividends on securities from the USA and a few further countries can at least partially be reclaimed in Switzerland.
From 1.1.2017 people resident in Switzerland with securities or accounts in EU countries will not have to pay withholding taxes anymore.
Most of the Swiss Cantons and the federal government grant tax reliefs on dividends from income from qualified investments of limited companies. In Canton Zürich, there is a tax relief of 50% on the regular taxation for ownership of more than 10% of the share capital, capital stock and liquidation surplus. According to the federal tax regulations this income is taxed at the value of 60% of regular tax rates.
Since the corporate tax reform II, the distribution of dividends paid out of the agio are exempt from taxation. This is mainly undertaken by bigger companies and is often referred to as tax-free dividends.