At the same time, as Nashagazeta.ch notes, a successful entrepreneur must be able to look into the future, and the Credit Suisse forecast, which attempted to imagine what this same ranking would look like in a few years, can help with that. Reshuffles in the ranking are inevitable, experts believe, since Switzerland is facing significant changes.
One of the factors that could influence the choice of company location in the future is the grand transport project 'New Railway Link through the Alps' (NLFA) scheduled for implementation in 2020, part of which is the Gotthard Tunnel that opened this year, according to Credit Suisse specialists. In their opinion, NLFA will improve connections to central and southern Switzerland, promoting the development of these regions. In particular, Uri and Ticino can expect a boost in tourism and the real estate market, linked to an increase in the number of workers living and working in different cantons.
However, the upcoming corporate tax reform is of primary importance. Its main goal is to abolish some special tax regimes and reduce the overall tax burden on companies. However, the fate of the reform has yet to be decided by the people: as it became known, the collection of signatures to put this issue to a referendum ended a month ahead of schedule. The initiators of the vote were the Socialist Party and the Green Party, as well as the Swiss Trade Union Federation (USS).
Recall that today in Switzerland, the corporate income tax rate ranges from 12% to 24% depending on the canton. Higher rates are typically in effect in Romandy, whose representatives did not manage to break into the top 10 in the current Credit Suisse ranking: Geneva ranks 13th, Vaud 17th, Neuchâtel 19th, Fribourg 22nd, Valais 25th, and Jura 26th (last).
As a result of the tax reform, the tax burden on ordinary companies in many cantons will be reduced. For example, Basel-City intends to reduce the corporate income tax to 13% and the capital tax to 1%, thereby neutralizing the gap with Zurich, which it has every chance of overtaking in the ranking. Geneva and Vaud, for the same reason, will be able to rise by 9 and 6 places, respectively. But no one will be able to challenge the leadership of Zug, which is aiming for a 12% corporate tax, in the coming years.
Credit Suisse economists also note that the gap between urban and rural areas is widening every year in terms of access to highly skilled labor – Switzerland's main resource, as it lacks natural wealth. In this category, among 110 economic regions, Zurich leads, with the share of such specialists reaching 51.8%. European migration, among other factors, played a significant role in providing Switzerland with highly skilled labor, according to the Credit Suisse study. However, the authors of this study did not calculate the impact of future restrictions in this area on the future results of Swiss companies.
Let us add that currently, besides Zug and Zurich, which lead by a significant margin, the most attractive Swiss cantons include Aargau, Basel-City, Nidwalden, Lucerne, Schwyz, Obwalden, Thurgau, and Appenzell Outer Rhodes. The evaluation was based on criteria such as corporate and personal taxation, access to highly skilled and specialized labor, transport accessibility, and others.