Gov/en/Portal:Transparency/Fiscal-Study Summary
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Fiscal-Study: Executive Summary · Source: Gov/en/Portal:Transparency/Fiscal-Study (study v3.6.4, June 2026) · PDF (English only, 62 p.): Fiscal-Study_v2.0_EN_2026-07-19.pdf · French version: Étude Fiscale : Synthèse
Recommendation
Need: Confirm WikiDeal can legally start fundraising. Intention: Qualify contributions as donations-with-reward (CC Art. 239) and submit the study to licensed attorneys for formal legal opinions. Conclusion: Fundraising can start immediately; the first CHF 200,000 tranche (Stage 1A) carries risk close to zero, with legal review run in parallel. PDF EN p. 2
Platform Deprivatization Mechanism
Need: Explain why WikiDeal's model is generic and reusable. Intention: Describe a mechanism to transfer platforms from private ownership to commons governance. Conclusion: The donation-funded, exit-to-community model is a replicable template for platform deprivatization. PDF EN p. 3–6
1. Purpose and Scope
Need: Define what the study covers. Intention: Analyze Swiss fiscal and regulatory treatment of the WikiDeal financial management system under Ynternet.org Foundation (Geneva, tax-exempt). Conclusion: Scope covers donations, rewards, VAT, and regulatory positioning for Round 1 (CHF 1M). PDF EN p. 7
2. Organizational Structure
Need: Clarify who operates what. Intention: Foundation (tax-exempt, supervised by ESA/ASF Bern) mandates the WikiDeal Association for operations. Conclusion: The operational mandate does not jeopardize the Foundation's tax-exempt status. The association WikiDeal Prototype 1 will evolve into a decentralized network of providers (hosting, maintenance, security) selected via tenders, with initial remunerations in Rewards and Karma Tokens. PDF EN p. 8–9
3. The Donation Model: Why Not a Loan?
Need: Establish the legal nature of contributions. Intention: Show contributions are donations (CC Art. 239): no repayment obligation, no guaranteed reward. Conclusion: Loan, security, deposit and investment qualifications are argued to be excluded; rewards are tokens of gratitude funded by subscription revenue (global cap CHF 50M). PDF EN p. 10–14
4. Contradictory Analysis: Devil's Advocate
Need: Stress-test the donation qualification. Intention: Argue the strongest opposing views (disguised loan, security, collective investment, deposit-taking). Conclusion: Each requalification fails on its own criteria; residual points flagged for the attorneys' review. PDF EN p. 15–20
5. Swiss Tax Treatment of Contributor Rewards
Need: Know how rewards are taxed. Intention: Apply DBG Art. 23: Retained Rewards are taxable income of the contributor; the donation portion follows cantonal gift-tax rules. Conclusion: Clear tax treatment; contributors are informed rewards may be taxable. The reward is only realised once a sufficient number of subscriptions has been acquired by users (Theo #11091). PDF EN p. 21–22
6. VAT Positioning
Need: Determine VAT obligations. Intention: Rely on the non-profit turnover threshold and a brokerage-commission model for platform revenue. Conclusion: No VAT liability expected at current stage; monitored via annual thresholds. PDF EN p. 23–26
7. Regulatory Positioning by Institution
Need: Map every supervisor's view. Intention: Analyze FINMA (Sandbox, BA Art. 6(2)), FinSA Art. 36 prospectus exemptions, ESA/ASF, cantonal tax authorities. Conclusion: No banking license, no prospectus, no pre-approval required for Round 1. PDF EN p. 27–32
8. Annual Report Indicators
Need: Prove ongoing compliance. Intention: Define a compliance-evidence framework of indicators published in the annual report. Conclusion: Auditable indicators track sandbox ceiling, contributor count, reward cap and donation flows. PDF EN p. 33–35
9. Combined Scenario: Contribution + Gain + Re-Donation
Need: Test the model end-to-end. Intention: Walk one contributor through donating, receiving a reward, and re-donating it. Conclusion: Each step keeps its legal qualification; no requalification arises from combining them. PDF EN p. 36
10. International Considerations
Need: Assess cross-border exposure. Intention: Summarize treatment of non-Swiss contributors and foreign regulators. Conclusion: Round 1 is Swiss-focused; international expansion needs country-specific review later. PDF EN p. 37
11. Recommendations
Need: Define next steps. Intention: Submit a series of questions based on this study to attorneys (avis de droit) covering tax, financial-market and foundation law. Conclusion: Proceed with Stage 1A now; legal opinions refine democratic transition, support percentages, gain taxation, utility tokens and individual contracts before Round 2. PDF EN p. 38
Appendices A–B: Legal References
Need: Ground every claim in law. Intention: Detail the top 10 legal references and index all cited provisions. Conclusion: Complete citation base (CC, BA, FinSA, CISA, DBG, VAT Act) ready for attorney review. PDF EN p. 39–45
Appendix C: Financial Contribution Report v3.5
Need: Explain the full financial model to contributors. Intention: Cover the contribution framework, subscriptions, bonding curve, Exit to Community, comparative study, dev plan and costs, plus FAQ. Conclusion: Self-contained contributor-facing report; the operational companion to the legal study. PDF EN p. 46–61
Related Pages
- Rewards Explained (FAQ)
- Cashout Mechanism
- Donor contract (draft mockup)
- Full PDF: Fiscal-Study_v2.0_EN_2026-07-19.pdf (English, 62 p.)
Summary generated 2026-07-19 from study v3.6.4 (rev 2512 EN / 2513 FR, incl. corrections #11081, #11083, #11091). Monolingual PDFs: English (62 p.) · French (66 p.). French version of this summary: Gov/fr/Portal:Transparence/Étude Fiscale Synthèse. Not tax or legal advice.