Having just got my first estimate for 2005 tax (as I finished the tax year in SZ having lived in ZH for most of it), I was frankly shocked by the amount.

For Kantons-, Bezirks- and Gemeinde-Steuer, I find that for a married couple is significantly LESS than for a single person in either ZH or TI.

Has anyone else made this move in the last few years? What is your experience?

I have to assume that the figures are not too far from being perfectly accurate as the Gemeide has two-years' worth of tax returns for both myself and my wife.

I am now having to stop the missus spending the fortune that it appears we save. That's not right either......I should be spending it!

It all depends on your joint income.

My wife and I together earn around 150K p.a. If we paid tax as individuals, it would be around 2-3K a year cheaper where we are, as it is not offset by a lower tax for married people. It is often referred to as the "Heiratsstrafe" (or marriage penalty). With the increase in de-facto relationships, two-income married couple are being more and more penalised.

They are looking into changing the law to equalise this discrimination, but I don't expect anything in a hurry.

I am talking for the two of us, less than one person before. Significantly.

I'm wondering what the Federal tax will be like as I did not expect it to be this low

Or you mean that de-facto couples are becoming less and less penalised I think the whole idea of increasing tax on married people is a little perverse, and is a very good reason not to get married! The only time the present system is advantageous is when only 1 of the married partners works...

Lob Rockster - of course your tax bill comes up smelling of roses - but the rest of Switzerland doesn't live in a tax haven canton! So go ahead and gloat away, but I doubt it will make you any friends

Just for your info the federal tax is the same wherever you live. But you can see some serious advantages to living in Pfäffikon if you compare it to BAsel Stadt for example where you will pay twice as much literally in Gemeinde and Kanton tax... Check it out and smile you lucky w****r!!!

actually I think we've even cheaper than Pfäffikä

Don't forget that in big cities and towns like Zuerich there are a lot of public utilities to support .. plus lots of unemployed people, asylum seekers and others likely to be taking from the tax pot.

Much less so, out in the sticks, so local taxes can be lower.


Gav

Excellent point gav - probably why Zurich is always banging on about subsidising all the other cantons when it comes to them using Zurich's infrastructure. It's at time like this when the madness of the system is apparent. Not of course to Mr. Rockster who is busy rubbing his hands with glee...

At least my one consolation is that I pay less taxes here than I did in the USA. Although two years ago I moved from a Gemeinde where I paid 99% to one where I now pay 123% (almost as much as living in Zurich)! I think I need to sell my place and move to Winkel... LOL

Oh... and it is true... the only time you can save a little on taxes here being married is when one of the spouses doesn't work or when his/her income is under 7K a year.

Well your taxes might be less than in the USA - but if you actually are a US citizen you'll still have to fork out some money to them as well. And... if you are like almost all US citizens I've ever met you'll start to defend this as "not being that bad" and tell us all how you don't really mind. It's as if the Boston Tea Party never happened.... Curious...

There's a lot of hidden things to consider when thinking about one's taxes in CH as well.. For example all the extra stuff they come after you for AHV/IV etc. technically these aren't counted as tax, but in reality they are (especially since you aren't going to get any AHV!!), then there's health insurance - in many countries provided as part of your tax - but here you have to pay extra - to me this is also tax. And yes I know the NHS is crap, but there are other countries where the public health systems aren't crap, so let's not try and simplify stuff like that by pointing at single examples which don't work... One day I added it all up, and it wasn't that rosy at all... Mind you - if you've come from somewhere like Germany or the scandanavian countries then wherever you live in Switzerland you'll be constantly impressed when you get your tax bill

Very true Mark. Very true. However, since I am not a US citizen, I don't have to pay them taxes anymore, specially after IRS explain to me how I could prevent from paying US taxes for my US business. Long story, so I won't go into it and since that is my sole "declarable" income the Swiss consider income gained in another country under different tax structures as income earned directly here. So, at least for me, it is a tax paradise. As far as having to pay for health insurance, one has to do the same in the USA and it is more expensive than it is here. Also, not all American companies pay for half the cost of the workers' health insurance (hardly any US companies pay for all of it and many are decreasing their health benefits to their workers and their families). In the last few years, most bankrupcies declared by the middle and lower classes in the US were because of inability to pay medical bills. Anyhow, that's getting off the subject of Switzerland as a tax haven.

Can totally understand - two most expensive countries in the world for health care - USA and CH! (as a percentage of GDP)

Let's start a healthcare revolution. I'll get the Margaritas, chips and salsa... LOL

I come to Zurich everyday to use their, erm, unemployed? I benefit from the streetlamps, transport, clean city and wonderful Christmas lights outside my window

Actually there is another point here which you have missed. It is nothing to do with Zurich's infrastructure but to do with the tax system... Because Zurich has a large (Swiss relative) GDP they need to directly subsidise the "poorer" cantons tax- This means that if Zurich did not have this weight on its shoulders the tax would be much lower. Interestingly they have broke the tax rules for the maximum two consecutive years and next year, at least in theory, they are obliged to substantially increase taxes. It will be interesting to see what pans out!!!