limited liability company

 

What is a limited liability company?

The limited liability company (LLC) is a company with its own legal personality, in the merge to one or more persons in a separate company. Each partner is liable for a maximum amount of its registered share capital.

There are advantages and disadvantages of starting an LLC. The advantages of a limited liability company include – the exclusion of any personal liability of your private wealth, the possibility to have several share-holders, the easy transfer of ordinary shares, low minimum capital (CHF 20,000) On the other hand, the disadvantages include the potential for a worse acceptance by customers, suppliers and investors (compared to an AG), a lack of anonymity of the shareholders, strict requirements for compliance with company law provisions, and taxation at both the GmbH level and shareholder level (double taxation).

What you need to consider when establishing a limited liability company? The most important points regarding the establishment of an LLC in Switzerland are the required capital, at least CHF 20,000 (fully paid); the number of shareholders, at least one person; the company name, a made-up name is possible, but the inclusion of “GmbH" in the name is mandatory; auditors, this requirement only applied for LLC with 10 or more employees; the VAT duty, this is only mandatory when the sales exceeds CHF 100,000, however a voluntary designation is possible; the period prior to the entry, depending on the canton this is between 10 days - 4 weeks (with an express procedure, the period may be as short as 5 days).

The formation expenses, depending on the provider, will range between CHF 1'750 - 4'500 (excl. commercial register entry).