Vaud and Geneva: highest tax rate in Switzerland

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TaxesVaudois and Genevois crumble under tax burden
The inhabitants of the edges of Lake Geneva contribute twice as much on average as those of Zug.
In the Cantons of Geneva and Vaud, the average bill for natural persons is twice as high as in that of Zug.
Getty ImagesThe Federal Finance Administration (AFF) published its analysis on tax burden in the Swiss cantons on Tuesday. It calculated “the operating rate of the tax potential of natural persons”, that is to say the share of income that taxpayers pay for municipal and cantonal taxes (without direct federal tax).
For this year 2025, the Swiss average is 19.6 % of taxable income. This represents an increase of 0.1 percentage point compared to the 2024 reference year and this is the highest rate ever reached since 2008.
On the edges of Lake Geneva, the cantons of Vaud and Geneva present the highest rates in Switzerland for natural persons with 25.6% for the first and 25.5% for the second. Conversely, Zug offers the least heavy load with a small 12%.
From Zug to the left in Vaud on the right, the increase by canton of the average tax charge for natural persons.
AFFFor the 2025 reference year, “half of the cantons record an increase in the exploitation of the tax potential of natural persons, notes the AFF, ten cantons experience a drop, while the exploitation of the tax potential remains stable in three cantons. The greatest variations are observed in the cantons of Obwald (+ 0.6 percentage point) and Basel-Ville (-0.6 percentage point) ”.
Legal persons
On the business side, on average Swiss, the operating rate of the tax potential of legal persons reached 9.1 % for the reference year 2025. It is 0.4 percentage point to that of 2024. majority of cantons (20) record a drop, the largest concerning the canton of the Jura (-2.8 percentage points). Here, it is the cantons of Valais and Ticino that display the most substantial taxation.
Tax charge for legal persons by canton.
AFF