Many people, both Swiss and foreigners, pay an accounting firm to prepare their tax declaration on their behalf. But this doesn’t always work out for the best as one reader testified.
Treuhand in German, fiduciare in French, and agenzia fiduciaria in Italian, an accounting firm can provide helpful services for people who prefer to delegate the management of their money — including tax preparation — to third parties rather than do it themselves.
This is especially the case for people (often foreign nationals) who have no clue how to prepare their Swiss tax declarations.
An accounting firm can perform this routine (for them) task fairly simply and send you the bill, the amount of which depends on the complexity of your financial accounts.
All you have to do is send them all the required paperwork.
Sometimes, however, complications occur.
‘I am really worried’
A reader from Vaud, who asked to remain anonymous, has related to The Local a disappointing experience he has had — not with just one, but with two fiduciaires he hired to handle his taxes.
“The first one filed my declaration late with errors, and did not follow up on questions from the authorities,” the reader said. “I incurred a fine and they even sent me bills for the corrections and answering the queries.”
Then the reader switched to another company, but the second one “is even worse”.
“They have had my documents since March [the tax deadline in Switzerland] and still have not filed [by July]. They are overdue now.”
Despite several emails and phone calls, the reader still has no response to his queries.
“All I get is that it will submitted this week but still nothing. I am really worried.”
He is wondering whether he was just unlucky or whether other readers have had similarly dismal experiences.
“It seems odd to me that I have had the same experience with two tax advisors. How can I resolve this and how can I find a decent fiduciaire for next year?” he asked.
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Let’s tackle the second question first
Since 2020, most Treuhands/fiduciaires/ agenzia fiduciarias operating in Switzerland must be licensed by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA).
That is a guarantee that a given company — if it is large enough to fall under FINMA’s rules — is trustworthy, and acting in accordance with established rules.
According to FINMA, “this requires trustees to meet various financial, personnel-related and organisational requirements,” in its dealings with clients.
This is a general description of a company’s duties and responsibilities, but how each of them handles customer service is a different matter altogether — as is the case with any privately-owned business.
There are two possible scenarios which could explain why the reader was treated so shabbily by his two accounting firms: one, that the company has been overwhelmed with work meeting not only the actual tax deadline but the extended one as well; and two, that it has given priority to bigger corporate clients over individual ones.
Neither of these reasons is justifiable, but they could explain why the reader has experienced such poor service.
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Is there a way to prevent this from happening?
One way is to choose a tax advisor who works mostly (or, better yet, exclusively) with individuals rather than companies. If you are not familiar with any in your area, ask people you trust for recommendations.
It is a good idea to contact them before the next tax season. Explain what your specific situation is (that is, how complex or simple your financial situation is) and ask whether they can handle your taxes and guarantee the timeliness of your tax declaration.
It is best to do this by email, so you have a written proof of their response, which carries more weight than a verbal commitment.
Keep in mind too, that timeliness is your responsibility too.
If you send all the relevant paperwork to your tax preparer as soon as you have it — that is, in January — they will have more time to meet the deadline (or ask for extension) than if you send it at the last minute.
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Where can you complain if your taxes are not prepared in a timely manner, despite guarantees?
Assuming that you have provided all the required tax documents to the company in good time and they told you in writing that all be ready before the filing deadline (but isn’t), your recourse is to file an official complaint.
In accordance with the Financial Services Act, clients of financial service providers may initiate a procedure with an ombudsman recognised by the Federal Department of Finance (FDF).
This FDF page explains how to file this kind of complaint.
It is an important step because late tax filing can result in penalties. If you face any due to your tax accountant’s delay, the intervention of the ombudsman could save you from extra incurred fees.
Have you encountered a situation similar to our reader’s? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
