Gov/en/Portal:Transparency/Fiscal-Study Summary

💡 In simple words: WikiDeal asked: "Is our way of collecting money and giving thank-you Rewards allowed in Switzerland?" A long study (about 100 pages) looked at every rule. This page is the short version: each big chapter of the study explained in a few lines, with the page numbers where you can read more. The short answer of the study: yes, the first steps look safe, and real lawyers should double-check the details.

🎯 In 20 seconds (scientific summary): Chapter-by-chapter summary of the Swiss Fiscal and Legal Framework Study v3.6.4 (June 2026). Each section below states the intent of the corresponding chapter, a 5-8 line synthesis, and the page numbers in the monolingual English PDF (100 pages). The study qualifies contributions as donations to an applied R&D project of public interest (CC Art. 239), positions Round 1 (CHF 1,000,000) within the FINMA Sandbox (Banking Act Art. 6(2)) and FinSA Art. 36 prospectus exemptions, treats retained Rewards as taxable income (DBG Art. 23), and concludes that the first CHF 200,000 tranche carries risk close to zero. Preliminary synthesis, not tax or legal advice. Version française : Gov/fr/Portal:Transparence/Étude_Fiscale_Synthèse.

Fiscal Study: Chapter Summaries

Full study on the wiki: Gov/en/Portal:Transparency/Fiscal-Study · PDF (English, 100 pages): download · Version française de cette synthèse : Gov/fr/Portal:Transparence/Étude_Fiscale_Synthèse

Page numbers below refer to the English PDF. This page is a navigation aid: it adds no new facts to the study.

Recommendation (pages 2-3)

Intent: state up front what the Ynternet.org Foundation should do with this study. Synthesis: a donation-with-reward appeal is considered applicable under Civil Code Art. 239. On this basis WikiDeal can start a crowdfunding appeal immediately: the first CHF 200,000 tranche (Stage 1A of Prototype 1) combines the donation qualification with FINMA Sandbox protection (Banking Act Art. 6(2)) and carries risk close to zero. The study itself remains a preliminary internal analysis: it should be submitted to one or more licensed attorneys for formal legal opinions (avis de droit) covering tax law, financial market regulation and foundation supervisory law, conducted in parallel as due diligence, not as a precondition to starting. Read more: full section on the wiki.

A Generic Mechanism for Platform Deprivatization (pages 4-9)

Intent: present the model as a pilot experiment reusable beyond WikiDeal. Synthesis: the study describes a generic mechanism for the deprivatization and reappropriation by users of a digital platform (governance, management, policies, finances, operations), applicable to any marketplace where contracts are signed: transport, housing, volunteering, local planning, ethical commerce. The mechanism is an applied R&D programme run in two phases by two separate non-profit entities: the Ynternet.org Foundation (incubation: research, prototype, contributor base, legal groundwork) and the WikiDeal Association (operations: marketplace). Read more: full section on the wiki.

1. Purpose and Scope (pages 12-13)

Intent: define the four questions the study answers and how the funding system works in brief. Synthesis: the system operates in two steps: support (a financial donation, or high-value time under a mandate, with no guarantee of seeing the money again) and reward (Rewards pre-defined by a transparent, auditable bonding curve, given in gratitude). The four questions: legal qualification of contributions as donations; tax treatment of contributor Rewards; regulatory positioning vis-a-vis ESA and FINMA; and the compliance evidence to publish in annual reports. Read more: full section on the wiki.

2. Organizational Structure (pages 14-15)

Intent: show who does what, and why the tax-exempt foundation is protected. Synthesis: the Ynternet.org Foundation (Geneva, est. 1998, tax-exempt) incubates the project and supervises; the WikiDeal Association operates the platform under an operational mandate. The association is non-profit: any surplus is reinvested in the platform or redistributed to contributors through the pro-rata Reward mechanism, with no dividends or profit shares to any natural person. Initial work is remunerated through Rewards and Karma tokens rather than salaries, with a transition to a decentralized provider network selected via tenders. Read more: full section on the wiki.

3. The Donation Model: Why Not a Loan? (pages 16-21)

Intent: establish the central legal qualification and exclude the alternatives. Synthesis: contributions are donations under CC Art. 239: no repayment obligation, no guaranteed reward, no interest. The chapter argues why alternative qualifications must be excluded: not a loan (no claim to repayment), not a security (no tradable instrument sold), not a collective investment scheme (CISA Art. 7: no pooled capital, individual contracts), not deposit-taking in the banking sense (and even in a worst-case recharacterization, the FINMA Sandbox covers up to CHF 1 million). Read more: full section on the wiki.

4. Contradictory Analysis: Devil's Advocate (pages 22-28)

Intent: stress-test the model by arguing against it, objection by objection. Synthesis: the chapter takes the strongest objections a regulator or tax authority could raise (the donation is not genuine because of the Reward; the Reward is an investment product requiring a FINMA prospectus; the scheme is a collective investment under CISA; the 5% value adjustment is interest) and answers each with legal references, including FinSA Art. 36 prospectus exemptions (fewer than 500 investors, less than CHF 8M/12 months) and the Federal Council DLT report. The strategic reserve: the 5% value increase can be suspended or abandoned at any time, as a non-essential add-on. Read more: full section on the wiki.

5. Swiss Tax Treatment of Contributor Rewards (pages 29-31)

Intent: clarify what contributors owe in taxes, in each scenario. Synthesis: the donation portion (Rewards allocated to community projects, not retained) follows gift-tax rules and is not income for the contributor; a deduction (DBG Art. 33a) could apply only for full donations to the tax-exempt foundation, subject to cantonal recognition. Rewards retained for personal use are taxable income of the contributor under the catch-all clause DBG Art. 23, declared in the personal income tax return. The chapter details the boundary cases and the reporting the platform intends to provide. Read more: full section on the wiki.

6. Value Added Tax (VAT) Positioning (pages 32-36)

Intent: determine when VAT applies and on what basis. Synthesis: donations are not turnover for VAT purposes; only marketplace commissions and service fees count toward the threshold. As a non-profit association, WikiDeal benefits from the higher CHF 150,000/year registration threshold (MWSTG Art. 10 para. 2 lit. a) instead of the standard CHF 100,000. Under the brokerage model, VAT applies only on the commission, not on the value of the underlying transaction between users. The chapter compares structural options and their VAT consequences. Read more: full section on the wiki.

7. Regulatory Positioning: By Supervisory Institution (pages 37-43)

Intent: answer, institution by institution, "what does this authority supervise, and why is WikiDeal compliant?" Synthesis: the chapter walks through ESA/ASF (foundation supervision), FINMA (banking, securities, collective investment schemes), the AFC (federal tax administration), the Geneva cantonal authorities, the RAB (audit oversight), the FDPIC (data protection) and AMLA obligations. For each, it states the mandate, the applicable tests, and the WikiDeal position: no hidden securities, no collective investment scheme (CISA Art. 7 and the Art. 2 para. 3 non-profit exemption), prospectus exemptions under FinSA Art. 36, and transparency exceeding CC Art. 83b requirements. Read more: full section on the wiki.

8. Annual Report Indicators: Compliance Evidence Framework (pages 44-48)

Intent: define the measurable proofs of compliance to publish every year. Synthesis: the chapter lists the indicators, evidence and proofs to include in the WikiDeal annual report so that the ESA, auditors and other supervisory bodies can verify compliance and the public-interest purpose: governance evidence (meeting minutes, direct democracy votes, user group decisions), zero-profit evidence, commission-reduction trajectory, and FINMA/audit compliance metrics. All data is intended to be published in wiki mode, fully visible and auditable. Read more: full section on the wiki.

9. Combined Scenario: Contribution + Gain + Re-Donation (pages 49-50)

Intent: trace one contributor through the whole cycle, with numbers. Synthesis: a worked example follows a single contribution end to end: the initial donation, the Rewards defined by the bonding curve, the taxable portion if Rewards are retained (DBG Art. 23), and the re-donation of gains to community projects. The scenario shows how each step maps to the qualifications established in chapters 3 and 5, and what the contributor declares at each stage. Read more: full section on the wiki.

10. International Considerations (pages 51-52)

Intent: sketch the cross-border picture for contributors outside Switzerland. Synthesis: WikiDeal is in pre-launch phase and targets contributors across multiple countries. The chapter summarizes, jurisdiction by jurisdiction, the general principles under the donation model: how the donation is treated, how gains from Rewards are taxed locally, and whether a re-donation deduction exists. It stays at the level of general principles and defers country-specific advice to local counsel. Read more: full section on the wiki.

11. Recommendations (pages 53-54)

Intent: list the concrete next steps. Synthesis: obtain formal legal opinions from licensed Swiss attorneys confirming the donation qualification, the non-applicability of FINMA securities and banking regulation, the tax treatment of chapter 5 and the VAT position; keep the compliance evidence framework of chapter 8 running; and sequence deeper studies (notably on the taxation of reward collection, democratic transition, support percentages and individual contracts) for the second stage, after the first fundraising tranche. Read more: full section on the wiki.

Appendices A, B and C (pages 55-100)

Intent: give supervisors and counsel the full evidence base. Synthesis: Appendix A (pages 55-66) details the ten most critical legal references, starting with Federal Supreme Court 9C_570/2025 (17 December 2025) on whether a contribution can remain a genuine donation when the donor receives benefits in return. Appendix B (pages 67-69) indexes all 32 legal references with direct links. Appendix C (pages 70-100) embeds the complete WikiDeal Financial Contribution Report v3.5: bonding curve, contributor options, subscriptions, Exit to Community, comparative study and development plan. Read more: Appendix A · Appendix B · Appendix C.

Related Pages

• Fiscal Study (full text)
• Synthèse en français
• Fiscal Reports portal page
• Economy and funding