Michael

Fischer

Partner, Attorney at Law, LL.M., Certified Tax Expert, TEP

Portrait

Michael is a founding partner of Fischer Ramp Buchmann AG.

He advises private clients on their domestic and international estate, tax, social security and succession planning as well as on philanthropic projects and governance related questions. Michael has considerable expertise in dealing with tax authorities and advising foreign lawyers, and he is a leading expert on the taxation of trusts and similar structures. Further, he acts on behalf of corporations, in particular family held companies and family offices, in domestic and cross-border matters.

He sits on the board of various companies and charitable foundations.

Michael is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences and a regular contributor to tax journals and publications. He lectures international tax law at EXPERTsuisse where he heads the module International Tax.

He holds law degrees from the University of Zurich (lic. iur., 1999) and the London School of Economics (LL.M., 2003). He was admitted to the Zurich Bar in 2002 and qualified as a certified tax expert in 2010. Prior to co-founding Fischer Ramp Buchmann AG Michael spent 13 years as associate and partner in an international Swiss law firm in London (2003 to 2006) and in Zurich (from 2006).

The prime legal directories, including Chambers HNW (Band 1), Legal 500 (Leading Individual) Who’s Who Legal and BestLawyers, continuously rank him as a leader in the fields of Private Client and Tax.

Chambers quotes sources as saying that Michael is “a market leader for tax and especially for high net worth advice. He is very dedicated to private client matters … and has a really boutique approach” (2019) and he “is very, very quick on facts and figures. He gets it very quickly and finds the relevant information.” (2020)

Legal 500 describes Michael as “a brilliant strategist at the intersection of corporate law and taxation with individual and entrepreneurial settings and set-ups” (2020) and “one of the A-list private client lawyers in Switzerland, immense experience in cross-border matters, unique know-how on trust and estate law and how it works in Switzerland, creative, fun to work with.” (2021)

In 2019 Michael was named “Leading Individual Adviser” at the Wealth Briefing Awards in Geneva and elected to „The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law“. In 2021 he was awarded “Lawyer of the Year – Switzerland” at the Citywealth IFC Awards.

In the past years Michael has consistently been listed in the Private Client Global Elite and included in the list of Who’s Who Legal’s Thought Leaders (“those who truly stand out as being leaders and who are held in the highest esteem by their clients and fellow practitioners“).

Michael is a member of the Zurich Bar Association and the Swiss Bar Association. He is on the Steering Committee of the International Tax Specialist Group (ITSG), a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) and he sits on the Committee of the Swiss arm of Philanthropy Impact.

His working languages are German, English and French.

Publications

2023

Per “Daumen hoch” zum Autokauf?
Michael Fischer, NZZ, 2023

2022

Der Schweizer Trust im Vorentwurf – eine Auslegeordnung
Michael Fischer, iusNet Erbrecht, 2022

2022

Der Schweizer Trust ist noch nicht am Ziel
Michael Fischer und Natalie Peter, NZZ, 2022

2021

Trusts und die Verrechnungssteuer – Wer hat Anspruch auf die Rückerstattung
Michael Fischer, SteuerRevue, 2021, S. 422 ff.

2021

Vorsicht bei der fortgesetzten Erbengemeinschaft
Michael Fischer und Samuel Ramp, NZZ, 2021

2019

Kommentar zum Schweizerischen Steuerrecht – Erbschafts- und Schenkungssteuerrecht
Zweifel, Beusch, Hunziker (Hrsg.), FRP Autoren: Michael Fischer, Samuel Ramp, Marc Buchmann, Dezember 2019

2018

Rückerstattung der Verrechnungssteuer – Es tut sich was
Michael Fischer und Samuel Ramp, Expert Focus, 2018, S. 649 ff.

2018

Obligationenrecht Allgemeiner Teil
Michael Fischer und Martin Aebi, Zürich, 4.A., 2018

2018

Der Trust passt nicht
Michael Fischer und Natalie Peter, NZZ, 2018

2017

Neues aus Lausanne und Bern zur Rückerstattung der Verrechnungssteuer – Abkehr vom Formalismus?
Michael Fischer und Samuel Ramp, Expert Focus, 2017, S. 540 ff.

2017

Family Offices – Recht, Management und Banking (Hrsg. Peter Sester), Zürich 2017
Peter Sester, Michael Fischer und Tenzin Dahortsang: Family Offices – Begriff und Strukturierungsvarianten
Michael Fischer und Marc Buchmann: Besteuerung von Family Offices

2016

The Art Collecting Legal Handbook by The European Lawyer, Swiss Chapter
Bruno Boesch, Michael Fischer und Anne-Laure Bandle, 2. A., 2016

2015

Discretionary trusts – last exit before AEOI? The Swiss view
Michael Fischer und Tobias Rohner, Trusts & Trustees vol.22 (2015), S. 393-400

2014

Hedge Funds, Jurisdictional Comparisons, Switzerland
Catrina Luchsinger Gähwiler, Raffaele Rossetti, Ansgar Schott, Michael Fischer, 2014, 2. A.

2014

Ein Ferrari Enzo ist kein „actif fictif“
Michael Fischer, SteuerRevue, 2014, S. 332 ff.

2014

Trusts and Swiss inheritance taxes – no match made in heaven
Michael Fischer und Benjamin Dori, Trusts & Trustees vol.20 (2014), S. 226-233

2014

Kreisschreiben 40 der ESTV – Verwirkung der Verrechnungssteuer-Rückerstattung
Michael Fischer und Samuel Ramp, ExpertFocus, 2014

2014

Fit für die kommende Dividendensaison?
Michael Fischer und Samuel Ramp, KMU-Magazin, 2014

2013

Trusts und Steuern: Kreisschreiben 20 der Eidg. Steuerverwaltung – und beim Tod des Settlors?
Michael Fischer und Benjamin Dori, Der Schweizer Treuhänder, 2013, S. 549-553

2013

Juristische Personen und die Kirchensteuer
Michael Fischer und Benjamin Dori, in: KMU-Magazin Nr. 12/2013

2013

Handänderungssteuer bei konzerninterner Vermögensübertragung, Befreiung gilt – contra verba legis – auch für Stiftungen
Michael Fischer und Benjamin Dori, SteuerRevue, 2013, S. 259 ff.

2005/2006

Conflicts of Interest: Jurisdictional comparisons in the law and regulation for the financial services, auditing and legal professions 2005/2006 (Switzerland)
Bruno Boesch, Michael Fischer and Elmar Meyer, London 2005, «European Lawyer Reference»