Xavier Oberson is a professor of Swiss and international tax law at the Faculty of Law of the University of Geneva since 1994. He holds a DES and a doctorate in law and went on to pursue his research in the United States at Harvard Law School, where he obtained an LL.M. and a Certificate of International Tax Program. He also practices as a lawyer, registered with the Geneva Bar (since 1987), at Oberson Abels SA in Geneva, Lausanne, Neuchâtel, and Sion, a law firm specializing in tax and commercial law. In this capacity, he advises clients, both individuals and legal entities, on all tax matters.
He has published numerous books and articles in the field of Swiss and international tax law, in particular: Taxing Robots. Helping the Economy to Adapt to the Use of Artificial Intelligence (London, Elgar Publishing, 2019), Précis de droit fiscal international (5th ed., Bern, Staempfli, 2022), Droit fiscal suisse (5th ed., Basel, Helbing & Lichtenhahn, 2021), Switzerland in International Tax Law (4th ed., Amsterdam, IBFD Publications, 2011). He is also the author of the book International Exchange of Information in Tax Matters. Towards Global Transparency, 3rd edition (London, Elgar Publishing, 2023), which ranks 9th in the “100 Best Tax Books of All Time” according to BookAuthority, one of the world’s leading non-fiction book recommendation services. He also teaches regularly at various universities abroad.
He recently played an active role in preparing the Corporate Tax Reform III. In 2016, he began to take an interest in the issue of taxing robots and their activities. It was in this context that he gave the opening lecture for the 2017 spring semester at the University of Geneva. Various scientific studies have been published on this same subject or are about to be published.
He has chaired the Tax Law Day, which he has organized every year since 2000, in conjunction with the Ordre Romand des Experts Fiscaux diplômés (OREF), of which he is an honorary member. He is the founder and director of the LL.M Tax (Master of Advanced Studies) program at the University of Geneva, which began in 2011.
Professor Oberson is closely involved in various associations, expert committees, and foundations active in the field of tax law. In this context, he is often called upon to draft legal opinions, collaborate on tax reforms, and participate in parliamentary proceedings. In May 2019, he joined the Tax Committee of the TIAETL (The International Academy of Estate and Trust Law).
He has held various positions, including judge on the former Federal Tax Appeals Commission (from 1994 to 2009) and chairman of the Federal Expert Commission on “Rechtsformneutrale Unternehmensbesteuerung” (legal form-neutral corporate taxation). He was a member of the expert group on international tax cooperation set up by the Federal Council in March 2009 and was involved in the negotiations for a new double taxation agreement with the United States. Since 2010, he has been a member of the Federal Commission for the Harmonization of Direct Taxes (CHID).
In 2012, he was the recipient of the “STEP Private Client Awards, The Geoffrey Shindler Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Profession.”
Among his other activities, he has been Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Grand Théâtre de Genève since October 2021. He is also Vice-Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Montreux Jazz Festival, Chairman of the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Centre d’Art Contemporain de Genève.