為什麼瑞士正在成為一個ICO蓬勃發展的「加密國家」：專家點評

翻譯開始

In our Expert Takes, opinion leaders from inside and outside the crypto industry express their views, share their experience and give professional advice. Expert Takes cover everything from Blockchain technology and ICO funding to taxation, regulation, and cryptocurrency adoption by different sectors of the economy.

從我們的專家意見採集來看，來自加密行業內外的專家領袖表達了他們的觀點，分享他們的經驗並提供專業意見。專家範圍涵蓋了從區塊鏈技術、ICO募資到稅收，監管和加密貨幣在不同經濟部門中的應用。

Switzerland has long been a global center for the wealth management industry, housing around $2 trillion, or 27 percent, of global offshore wealth. Since 1934, Swiss bankers and regulators have resisted the efforts of foreign tax regulators, including the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the US, to obtain information about secret Swiss bank accounts. They claimed compliance with Swiss law and the need to protect the privacy of their customers, as Swiss private bankers smuggled US taxpayer wealth from the US to Switzerland in all sorts of creative ways. From bundles of cash hidden inside rolls of newspaper to setting up shell companies, to jamming diamonds into toothpaste tubes, Swiss bankers aided tens of thousands of wealthy American clients to evade US taxes through secret offshore bank accounts.

瑞士一直是財富管理行業的全球中心，擁有約2萬億美元，是全球離岸財富的27％。自1934年以來，瑞士銀行家和監管機構抵制外國稅務監管機構（包括美國國內稅務局（IRS））獲取有關瑞士銀行秘密賬戶的信息。他們聲稱遵守瑞士法律和保護客戶隱私的必要性，因為瑞士私人銀行家以各種創造性的方式將美國納稅人的財富從美國走私到瑞士。瑞士銀行家從報紙卷中隱藏的一攬子現金到建立空殼公司，將鑽石藏進牙膏管，協助數以萬計富有的美國客戶通過秘密離岸銀行賬戶逃避美國稅收。

After giving up on their famous banking secrecy laws with a little nudging from the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the IRS Criminal Investigations Division (IRS-CI) which shut down the oldest private bank and slapped the largest and most prominent Swiss banks with billions in fines for aiding in US tax evasion, Switzerland was on the verge of losing its competitive edge over rival financial markets.

隨著美國司法部（DOJ）和國稅局刑事調查部門（IRS-CI）關閉了歷史最悠久的私人銀行，並對最大和最重要的瑞士銀行數十億美元的罰款，來懲罰其幫助美國人逃稅的行徑，瑞士被迫放棄其著名的銀行保密法並喪失其在金融市場中的競爭優勢。

But don』t count Switzerland out just yet. By establishing a global hub for virtual currencies known as the 「Crypto Valley」 in Zug, and the implementation of forward-looking regulation by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), Switzerland is emerging as one of 「the world』s leading ecosystems for crypto, Blockchain, and distributed ledger technologies」 according to Oliver Bussmann, the founder of the Crypto Valley Association. Johann Schneider-Ammann, the head of the Swiss Department of Economic Affairs, points out that the country is becoming a 「crypto nation」 for the digital revolution with a flourishing initial coin offerings (ICO) market.

但是，先不要輕易忽略掉瑞士。通過在楚格建立一個名為「加密谷」的虛擬貨幣全球中心，以及由瑞士金融市場監管局（FINMA）實施的前瞻性監管，根據加密谷協會的創始人Oliver Bussmann的說法，瑞士正在成為「全球加密、區塊鏈和去中心化技術的領先生態系統」之一。瑞士經濟事務部負責人Johann Schneider-Ammann指出，隨著ICO市場的興起，瑞士正在成為數字革命的「加密國」。

ICO is a new way of raising capital funds enabled by digital currencies and Blockchain technology where participants invest fiat currencies and receive 『tokens』 or digital assets in return. A person, project or company in need of capital creates a new kind of digital coin and sells a tranche of them for fiat currencies on a digital trading platform or exchange.

ICO是通過數字貨幣和區塊鏈技術籌集資金的一種新方式，參與者投資法幣並接收「令牌」或數字資產作為回報。一個需要資本的人，項目或公司創造一種新的數字貨幣，在數字交易平台或交易所上出售獲得法幣。

During 2017, Swiss-based ICOs raised about $550 million in funding, which was about 14 percent of the global ICO market, worth around $4 billion. The Zug-based Tezos ICO alone raised $232 million in July 2017. The Tezos foundation is facing at least half a dozen class-action lawsuits in the US from those who say they were misled and defrauded. 「Many Swiss ICO』s are structured as foundations that applied for non-profit tax status and the money raised in these ICOs are treated as a donation that may not be returned to ICO investors」 explained Dr, Luka Muller, legal partner of Swiss law firm MME, which helped set up the Tezos foundation as well as some other big ICOs.

2017年，瑞士的ICO項目籌集了大約5.5億美元的資金，約佔全球ICO市場的14％，價值約40億美元。楚格的Tezos ICO僅在2017年7月就籌集了2.32億美元。Tezos基金會在美國至少面臨六起集體訴訟案，紛紛來自那些聲稱被誤導和欺騙的人。「許多瑞士ICO的組織結構是申請非營利性稅收地位的基金會，而這些ICO籌集的資金被視為不會退還給ICO投資者的捐贈」，瑞士律師事務所MME的法律合伙人Luka Muller博士解釋說，該公司幫助建立了Tezos基金會以及其他一些大型ICO項目。

FINMA outlines a regulatory approach to ICOs

一 FINMA對ICO的監管方法進行的概述

In response to the sharp increase in the number of Swiss ICOs, on February 16 2018 FINMA published guidelines on ICOs under the Swiss anti-money-laundering and securities laws. Under regulatory guidelines issued, many ICOs will be treated as securities in Switzerland.

針對瑞士ICOs數量的急劇增加，2018年2月16日，FINMA根據瑞士反洗錢法和證券法發布了ICO指南。根據發布的監管指南，許多ICO將在瑞士被視為證券。

There are some exceptions, for example tokens used to access a platform that is already up and running, or for cryptocurrencies that function only as a means of payment. Neither will be considered securities, FINMA said, while the latter would be subject to anti money laundering regulation.

有一些例外情況，例如用於獲得已啟動並運行的平台的令牌，或僅用作支付手段的加密貨幣。FINMA表示，這兩者都不會被視為證券，而後者將受到反洗錢條例的監管。

「Our balanced approach to handling ICO projects and enquiries allows legitimate innovators to navigate the regulatory landscape and so launch their projects in a way consistent with our laws protecting investors and the integrity of the financial system," FINMA CEO Mark Branson commented.

「我們處理ICO項目和諮詢的平衡方法允許合法創新者遵循監管環境，並以符合「保護投資者」原則和保證金融體系的公平下評估。」FINMA首席執行官Mark Branson評論說。

Switzerland is 「unofficially」 a cryptocurrency tax haven

二 瑞士是「非正式」的加密貨幣避稅天堂

Undoubtedly Switzerland is an attractive place for ICOs both for investors and issuers due to the favorable Swiss tax laws.

毫無疑問，由於瑞士有利的稅法，吸引了投資者和發行人來此做ICO。

Cryptocurrencies are neither money nor a foreign currency, nor a financial supply for goods and services tax (GST) purposes.

加密貨幣既不是貨幣也不是外幣，也不是用於商品和服務稅（GST）的財務工具。

Transacting in tokens that qualify as securities may give rise to securities transfer tax duties for domestic instruments at a rate of 0.15 percent (or 0.30 percent for non-domestic instruments) in cases where a Swiss securities dealer was involved in the transaction.

在瑞士證券交易商參與交易時，交易證券類令牌，可能需支付國內票據證券轉讓稅，稅率為0.15％（或非國內票據的0.30％）。

Cryptocurrencies are an asset for capital gains tax (CGT) purposes, which only applies to someone who qualifies as a professional trader. Holders or investors of cryptocurrencies are subject to a wealth tax at the rate determined by the tax authorities on December 31 of the fiscal year.

對專業交易員，加密貨幣可能需要交付資本利得稅（CGT）。加密貨幣的持有人或投資者則需按財政年度12月31日稅務機關確定的稅率繳納財富稅。

An equity token, issued by an ICO, may be subject to a one-time capital duty of 1 percent, unlike a debt token. Any distribution of profits on equity tokens or payments on debt tokens is subject to Swiss withholding tax at a rate of 35 percent.

由ICO發行的股票代幣可能需要支付1％的一次性資本稅，這與債券代幣不同。任何股權代幣利潤分配或償還債務代幣，都需要繳納瑞士預提所得稅，稅率為35％。

US Swiss ICO investors beware of the IRS-CI

三 參與瑞士ICO的美國投資者謹防美國國稅局刑事調查處

The US Swiss ICO token investors not involved in class actions lawsuits should be aware that fresh off its success in uncovering US assets hidden in Swiss banks, the IRS-CI has assigned a special team of agents to investigate whether cryptocurrencies are being used to cheat the tax authority. 「It』s possible to use cryptocurrencies in the same fashion as Swiss bank accounts to facilitate tax evasion,」 Don Fort, chief of the IRS-CI, explained to Bloomberg News.

參與瑞士ICO令牌購買的美國投資人應該意識到隱藏在瑞士銀行的美國資產方，美國國稅局刑事調查處已經派出了一個特別的代理團隊來調查加密貨幣是否被用來欺騙稅務機關。「有可能以與瑞士銀行賬戶相同的方式使用加密貨幣以幫助逃稅行為。」美國國稅局刑事調查處局長Don Fort向彭博新聞解釋說。

The views and interpretations in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of us.

本文中的觀點和解釋僅代表作者個人，並不代表覓羅寶的觀點。

Selva Ozelli, Esq., CPA is an international tax attorney and CPA who frequently writes about tax, legal and accounting issues for TaxNotes, Bloomberg BNA, other publications and the OECD.

Selva Ozelli，Esq，CPA，經常為TaxNotes、Bloomberg BNA、其他出版物和OECD撰寫稅務，法律和會計問題。

翻譯結束。

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