Friday 9 October 2009

Switzerland Comes A Wooing

WooingThe Times reports that Swiss authorities are wooing chief executives of UK based companies, and other wealthy individuals, offering them tax saving deals to move to Switzerland.

Swiss officials from the cantons are personally contacting the CEOs of FTSE 100 companies, to persuade them to relocate their companies and families to Switzerland.

The Times reports that one chief executive was offered a flat tax rate of 10% on his personal income if he relocated the company to Geneva and lived there, as long as he provided a forecast of earnings for the next ten years.

Switzerland, and other countries, are capitalising on the increasingly punishing tax regime for high earners in Britain.

The government and HMRC may be in public denial over this. However, they are are aware that the high earners and tax avoiders that they are targeting will simply "up sticks" if they deem it to be in their interest to do so.

At some stage the costs of playing the "avoidance crack down card" will outweigh the revenue benefits.

Tax does have to be taxing.

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2 comments:

  1. Diminishing tax receipts associated with higher tax rates is simply demonstrated with the Laffer Curve.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laffer_curve

    Trevor Scott

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  2. There is also the allied issue of competitor jurisdictions (even those commonly regarded as high tax countries) being able to offer certainty and reliability in their legislation moving forward. To some, if not many, being able to rely on the tax law not being changed on a whim (or for cheap political gain) has value in itself. In the international arena, two changes have trashed the UK's credibility in this regard. The non-dom changes and the never ending faffing about over the taxation of foreign profits have both done long term damage. Both have achieved nothing positive and serve only as an object lesson in how not to make law.

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