On 24 March 2020, the Swiss Federal Tax Administration published a circular on the accommodation for payment concerning federal taxes as emergency measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The circular provides details of the regulation concerning the limited waiver of late payment interest (COVID-19-Verzichtsverordnung), effective as from 21 March 2020, which has been brought into force by the Swiss Federal Council (Bundesrat) on 20 March 2020. According to the circular, any late interest charges on late payments of federal taxes which become due during the period of 1 March 2020 to 31 December 2020 is waived.
The circular further notes that the tax authorities shall favourably consider deferrals of taxes due or payments in instalments if requested by taxpayers, provided the immediate tax collection would otherwise lead to significant hardship for requesting taxpayers.