Wow that’s a really uneven distribution… But i realised i have no idea how it looks elsewhere. Where did you get that statistic, i would be very interested to see the numbers for Zürich
To stay on the same topic
Prestentation given by Nathalie Fontanet last November in Bern. Interesting statistics in relation with “taxes” in Geneva
2 Likes
Thanks for the presentation!
It would be interesting to know how many of the 36% of the contributors that don’t pay taxes work for the UN.
And how much this practice of not having to pay taxes is hurting the Canton of Geneva
Hi, while not identical to the traditional income tax levied on individuals, United Nations staff are subject to a similar withholding mechanism known as “staff assessment”. This deduction typically amounts to 20-30% of their gross salary depending on their duty station.
« Staff assessment deductions are credited to the Tax Equalization Fund. Those Member States that do not impose income tax on United Nations earnings receive a portion of the Tax Equalization Fund as an offset against their assessments for the United Nations regular budget, peacekeeping and tribunal budgets ».
Source: Frequently asked questions | Income Tax Unit
I would be curious to know whether anything is remitted to the canton of Geneva by Switzerland.
I may be wrong but I don’t think UN are included in the figures: 36% refers to tax payers who do not pay any income tax because their income is too low. UN employees are not liable to tax and come on top.
It seems that the document you linked refers to UN personnel in the United States.
In ungeneva.org I’ve found this document stating (section 15b) that
“Officials [of the United Nations] shall be exempt from taxation on the salaries and emoluments paid to the by the United Nations”
Also on cern.ch (link) it is stated that
The members of the personnel are exempt from federal, cantonal and communal taxation on financial and family benefits paid by CERN
So yeah, it seems that all this “international organizations” people have a very favorable taxation (in some cases are not even taxed) while they enjoy a clean city, public transportation, schools, libraries, parks and all kinds of services.
Services paid by working people taxed at 30-40%…
But remember, from Section 17 (same document as above):
Privileges and immunities are granted to officials in the interest of the
United Nations and not for the personal benefit of the individuals themselves.
Mmm sure!
The staff assessment (20-30% of the gross salary) is deducted from your pay if you are working for the UN in Geneva, it’s not only the case in the US. Then, they do not pay income tax in Switzerland, you are correct.
And it’s probably still favorable, I agree with you.
But it’s necessary to correct the point you made that implies that UN staff do not contribute to the society due to an absence of withholding tax. It’s not the case.
1 Like