Switzerland is finally fighting back. It still faces a battle to regain the business and economic growth that has been drained from the country by the surrounding European Union (EU), but a series of new laws and high-profile corporate moves to the country have set Switzerland and its law firms back on the path to growth.
So, what is changing? A new law, the Collective Investments Scheme Act (CISA) – designed to win back the funds business lost to Luxembourg a decade ago – came into force this month; the 1985 Hague Convention on Recognition of Trusts has finally been ratified, boosting the country’s profile as an offshore centre from which to run trusts (the concept of trusts was virtually unknown in Swiss law); and, finally, high taxes and tougher EU regulation are driving multinationals to headquarter in the competitive cantons of Switzerland. A recent high-profile example saw US food giant Kraft announce a move from Vienna and London to Zurich this month, citing low corporation tax and the high standard of living as reasons for the decision to move hundreds of staff to the Swiss financial capital.
