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Taxes (Tables) | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2020
Disclosure of IncomeTax [abstract] |
Income before taxes |
(USD millions) |  | 2020 |  | 2019 |  | 2018 |
Switzerland |  | 9 786 |  | 8 097 |  | 11 887 |
Foreign |  | 92 |  | 843 |  | 2 208 |
Income before taxes from continuing operations |  | 9 878 |  | 8 940 |  | 14 095 |
Current and deferred income tax expense |
(USD millions) |  | 2020 |  | 2019 |  | 2018 |
Switzerland |  | – 932 |  | – 1 186 |  | – 615 |
Foreign |  | – 1 168 |  | – 961 |  | – 988 |
Current income tax expense |  | – 2 100 |  | – 2 147 |  | – 1 603 |
Switzerland |  | – 137 |  | – 93 |  | – 120 |
Foreign |  | 430 |  | 447 |  | 428 |
Deferred tax income |  | 293 |  | 354 |  | 308 |
Income tax expense from continuing operations |  | – 1 807 |  | – 1 793 |  | – 1 295 |
Analysis of tax rate |
(As a percentage) |  | 2020 |  | 2019 |  | 2018 |
Applicable tax rate |  | 13.6 |  | 11.7 |  | 14.3 |
Effect of disallowed expenditures |  | 4.6 |  | 4.8 |  | 1.7 |
Effect of utilization of tax losses brought forward from prior periods |  | – 0.3 |  | – 0.1 |  | – 0.1 |
Effect of income taxed at reduced rates |  | – 0.3 |  | – 0.7 |  | – 0.4 |
Effect of income not subject to tax 1 |  | – 0.7 |  | 0.0 |  | – 3.7 |
Effect of tax credits and allowances |  | – 2.3 |  | – 2.3 |  | – 2.3 |
Effect of release of contingent consideration liability |  | – 0.2 |  | – 0.5 |  | – 0.2 |
Effect of tax rate change on current and deferred tax assets and liabilities 2 |  | 0.3 |  | – 1.4 |  | – 0.1 |
Effect of write-off of deferred tax assets 3 |  | 0.2 |  | 4.0 |  | 0.2 |
Effect of write-down and reversal of write-down of investments in subsidiaries |  | – 0.8 |  | – 0.6 |  | 0.0 |
Effect of prior-year items |  | 2.3 |  | 2.2 |  | – 0.5 |
Effect of other items 4 |  | 1.9 |  | 3.0 |  | 0.3 |
Effective tax rate for continuing operations |  | 18.3 |  | 20.1 |  | 9.2 |
1 Included in 2018 is the effect of income not subject to tax (-3.7%) arising from the portion of the non-taxable gain on the divestment of the Group's investment in GSK Consumer Healthcare Holdings Ltd. attributable to Switzerland.
2 2019 is mainly related to the revaluation of the deferred tax assets and liabilities resulting from the tax reforms enacted in Switzerland in 2019. Refer to Note 12 for additional disclosures.
3 2019 is primarily related to a non-cash, one-time deferred tax expense for the write-off of a deferred tax asset resulting from legal entity reorganizations.
4 In 2020, other items (+1.9%) include changes in uncertain tax positions (+2.0%) and other items (-0.1%). In 2019, other items (+3.0%) include changes in uncertain tax positions (+2.6%) and other items (+0.4%).

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