The insurance sector’s 2.5 billion Swiss franc tax base
Swiss private insurers and their employees pay 2.5 billion Swiss francs in direct taxes annually. The wider Zurich/Zug/Schwyz region also benefits specifically from its status as a reinsurance hub.
The economic significance of Swiss private insurers can also be measured based on their tax contributions. In 2023, they generated 2.5 billion Swiss francs in federal, cantonal and municipal taxes, which were in turn able to be invested in schools, roads and other public services (source: BAK Economics 2024 Study on the Economic Significance of the Swiss Financial Sector). This highlights the significant role insurers play in the performance of our modern economy and society.
If indirect taxes from VAT and stamp duties are added, more than 4 billion francs in fiscal levies, or around 3 per cent of total federal, cantonal and municipal fiscal revenues come from the insurance industry.
The insurers have their headquarters in various cantons, cities and municipalities throughout the country. The canton of Zurich is a real insurance hub – especially for reinsurance companies, which are now also increasingly headquartering the neighbouring cantons of Schwyz and Zug. In terms of value added, the Zurich insurance hub ranks third in the world behind New York and London.
Good framework conditions for the insurance industry are therefore in the interest of the economy as a whole.
