The Taxation of Investment Funds: Switzerland Luxembourg and Germany

The purpose of this book aims to compare the national tax burdens of Switzerland Luxembourg and Germany with regards to the treatment of Investment Funds specifically collective investment vehicles (CIVs); Sociéte d’Investissement à Capital Variable and Fonds Communs de Placement (SICAVs and FCPs respectively) as well as Master feeder funds Fund of Funds and finally Non-CIVs which are most commonly referred to as Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs); Hedge Funds and Private Equity Funds (PE). Investment funds have become an integral part of cross-border activity within the European Union. They contribute significantly to adequate provisioning for retirement; they allocate savings to productive investments; and they can be a force for sound corporate governance. However it cannot be ignored there lays a considerate amount of uncertainty in terms of taxation of investment funds mainly due to discrepancies between legal structures between countries and their affiliated tax treatment. These discrepancies are investigated in greater detail in this book.