Steuerhinterziehung · tax evasion
Tax evasion is punished by a tax fine. It is not the same as tax fraud (Steuerbetrug), which involves the use of false documents. Fedlex has no English version of the Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation. Moreover, tax evasion in UK law does not cover exactly the same conduct as Steuerhinterziehung in Swiss law, so the German, French or Italian term remains the reference.
Request a demoThe term in four languages
- German
- Steuerhinterziehung
- French
- soustraction d'impôt
- Italian
- sottrazione d'imposta
- English
- tax evasion
Definition
A taxpayer who, wilfully or negligently, causes an assessment to be omitted when it should have been made, or a legally binding assessment to be incomplete, is liable to a fine. As a rule, the fine equals the amount of tax evaded. It may be reduced to one third in the case of minor fault, or tripled in the case of serious fault.
Swiss federal acts are published in German, French and Italian, and all three versions are equally authoritative. The English term shown here comes from the Federal Administration's English translation, published on Fedlex for information only. Where there is no translation, it follows common usage.
Full glossaryThe term in an official text
powered by Neur.onZeigt die steuerpflichtige Person erstmals eine Steuerhinterziehung selbst an, so wird von einer Strafverfolgung abgesehen (straflose Selbstanzeige), wenn: a. die Hinterziehung keiner Steuerbehörde bekannt ist; b. sie die Verwaltung bei der Festsetzung der Nachsteuer vorbehaltlos unterstützt; und c. sie sich ernstlich um die Bezahlung der geschuldeten Nachsteuer bemüht.
Lorsque le contribuable dénonce spontanément et pour la première fois une soustraction d’impôt, il est renoncé à la poursuite pénale (dénonciation spontanée non punissable), à condition: a. qu’aucune autorité fiscale n’en ait connaissance; b. qu’il collabore sans réserve avec l’administration pour déterminer le montant du rappel d’impôt; c. qu’il s’efforce d’acquitter le rappel d’impôt dû.
Source: Fedlex (German text), Federal Act on Direct Federal Taxation. In Corrext, this segment and the ones around it appear in Fast lookup CHnell, each with its reference.