One of the world’s richest countries has taxed personal wealth for over a century—while also adding more millionaires

Switzerland has long been famous as a haven for wealth, with Swiss bank accounts drawing money from rich people across the globe.

On a per-capita GDP basis, the country is the fourth wealthiest in the world at $126,177, trailing only Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Ireland, which has seen its economic data inflated by multinational companies domiciling there for tax purposes.

That’s despite Switzerland’s cantons levying wealth taxes for more than a century. The key to its success as a wealth haven that still taxes wealth is its low rate, according to Warren Gorlick, a retired policy adviser at the Treasury Department.

In a Washington Post op-ed last week, he pointed out that Swiss wealth taxes haven’t chased off the rich. In fact, the number of adults with $5 million-$10 million in assets actually grew 7.4% annually from 2000 to 2025.

While each canton sets its own rate, even those at the high end are modest relative to what’s being considered in the U.S., where wealth taxes have gained political traction recently.

In Zurich, for example, a married couple with $2.5 million in net worth pays an effective rate of just 0.24%, translating to........

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