Hello Everyone.

I come to this forum curious about your laws.

Someone told me that in Switzerland, there are strict fines for polluting.

I was hoping someone could fill me in about his, as well as about the laws that make Switzerland unique in general.

I also wanted to know about the disproportion between the rich and poor that you have. Is there an effort to ensure that it doesnt becomes too wide?

Thanks.

If you have any questions about Canada, here's a chance.

Hi Cory,

Well, I'm Swiss and I know that Switzerland has some very strict laws... However, I've never seen somebody being punished for dropping a dog-end on the street...

Well, the best known Swiss law is probably the Bank secrecy Takes too long to explain, just have a look here: Bank secrecy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Concerning the gap between rich and poor... I don't think somebody's actively trying to do anything against that... Far from it! I have the feeling that there are more and more rich people coming to Switzerland just to save money from taxes...
Don't get me wrong, I do not have anything against people coming to Switzerland, but I cannot stand those rich freaks coming here just because of the money. And the state won't do anything about it... I really do not understand why one can reduce tax for those who have more than enough money while there are so many who cannot afford anything but the very very basic.

so long,

-KraBaT^

Well you do have a problem - you mentioned it!

Read here before you comment again.

No rich with preferential rates shafts 1000s of these poor people living hand to mouth...

I do not have a problem with immigrants at all in general (otherwise I guess this forum was the wrong place for me )

I just do not really understand why rich ppl pay not as much taxes as the poorer ones. (Of course they pay more if you see it absolutely, but relatively, many of them are given big savings)
The state wants to keep them in the country, which is in a way plausible. We do, aso you probably know, a tax system that depends on the income. (progressive tay system) The more you earn, the more you pay - basically =) But there is a limit, after which there is no taxrise anymore. Do not ask me what that amount is, I don't know that by heart =)

So, I do understand that the state doesnt want to do anything against the situation, but I do not understand why rich people should pay "less" tax than poorer people...

so long and excuse my English =)

-KraBaT^

Heya

I dont know about the tax laws but I did have a lady telling me yesterday that at 22 degrees it was too hot for my dog to wait ten minutes in the car while I was in the Service/Petrol Station ( where dogs are forbidden) and that she was going to call the police on me .... dont get it really

Crazy how so many people here stick their noses into other peoples business - everyone is a little policeman...

Anyways... Enjoy
kt

Probably you should enlighten us why they should pay more?

they shouldn't pay more, they should pay the same, basically

Fair enough. So do you think the low income band should be charged at an equal rate then?

I no where ur coming from...

Look, there are 2 problems. Firstly, the low income band is very unhappy with the current situation. They're basically saying: "U either pay more or we pay less..." very abstract though, but that's about it.

The second thought is that the state needs to live from those taxes. So he cannot just lower the taxes for 80 % of the population! If he raises the taxes for the "upper band", many of them will go to another low-tax-country. And as long as there still are other such countries, this won't work either.

Therefore I think this is not an easy situation at all to handle. However, I cant imagine why a super-rich guy cannot just forgo a fifth ferrari and pay a bit more taxes instead. Or am I asking too much now?

To draw a conclusion, I think you need to be very carefully and try to find a way in the middle. Or get rid of all low-tax-countries

And by the way, I did not want to go at English ppl only, as some of u might have thought. This is a general problem in Switzerland and the topic starter wanted to know about it. Dont feel personally offended pls...

good afternoon

on the tax issue, i have a funny story here: enjoy

EVERY TAX PAYER SHOULD READ CAREFULLY!


Sometimes politicians, journalists and the liberal left excl. "It's
just a tax cut for the rich!" and it is just accepted to be fact.

But what does that really mean?

Just in case you are not completely clear on this issue, I hope the
following will help. Please read it carefully.

Let's put tax cuts in terms everyone can understand.

Suppose that every day, ten men go out for dinner and the bill for all
ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it
would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men ate dinner in the restaurant every day and seemed quite
happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a
curve.

"Since you are all such good customers, " he said, "I'm going to reduce
the cost of your daily meal by $20." Dinner for the ten now cost just
$80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so
the first four men were unaffected. They would still eat for free. But
what about the other six men--the paying customers? How could they
divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his "fair share?"

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted
that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would
each end up being paid to eat their meal.

So, the restaurant owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each
man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the
amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, n ow paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now paid $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four
continued to eat for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men
began to compare their savings.

"I only got a dollar out of the $20, " declared the sixth man. He
pointed to the tenth man, "But he got $10!"

"Yeah, that's right, " exclaimed the fifth man. "I only saved a dollar,
too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than me!"

"That's true!!" shouted the seventh man. "Why should he get $10 back
when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!"

"Wait a minute, " yelled the first four men in unison. "We didn't get
anything at all. The system exploits the poor!"

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.

The next night the tenth man didn't show up for dinner, so the nine sat
down and ate without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they
discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between
all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, boys and girls, journalists and college professors, is how
our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most
benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being
wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might
start eating overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.



David R. Kamerschen, Ph.D
Professor of Economics
University of Georgia

Of course not. The government as well as everyone living in Switzerland benefits from those people. If they weren't here they wouldn't be paying taxes in Switzerland at all. Even if they pay much less here than what they would pay in other countries, it's still beneficial for Switzerland and the people living here.

If you're referring to the "Pauschalbesteuerung", i.e. rich foreigners which do not work in Switzerland paying a low tax (usually based on the value of their property in Switzerland), I agree that those taxes are too low. The government could easily ask for double or triple the current amounts without those people leaving the country. Completely abandoning it, would be utterly stupid though.
BTW, did you know that some other countries, e.g. the UK, offer similar benefits to foreigners?

The UK offers the super rich a better deal than Switzerland. See :
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23401287-details/85%25+of+Britain%27s+super+rich+don%27t+pay+income +tax/article.do

It looks like you've somehow mangled the URL in that post, BB

I put the link in again, tested it and it worked but now it's failed again ! Try pasting the URL into your browser that's just worked for me.

I think the main complaint concerning the high earners flocking into Switzerland isn't so much with the tax deals they get but rather the effect of them living here. A colleague at work was telling me they are forcing up the property prices. Apparently, the price of buying a house along the "Gold Coast" of the Lake of Zürich has doubled in the last two years.

Good news if you were an existing resident looking to sell but you're knackered if you want to go and live there.

Another popular complaint is foreigners receiving preferential tax rates compared to citizens.
The Blick ran a story earlier this year about French singer Johnny Hallyday moving to Switzerland to benefit from lump sum taxation.
They compared him to Roger Federer. Both earn around SFr10 million a year.
Federer pays SFr3 million in taxes; Hallyday pays SFr0.3 million.

Switzerland is not alone there. I can sympathize with the Swiss point of view, as I saw this happen 15 years ago in the Northern England. There, the house prices rocketed in all sections of the market by:

a) "outsiders" buying weekend/holiday cottages and pricing young folks out of the starter home market

b) folks selling a relatively small house in the SE of England, where prices were high, and buying a large family home in the North, often with cash to spare

c) folks selling large family homes in the SE and buying mansions in the North

There's also the problem in London that many who used to be able to afford to live there no longer can. Large City bonuses drive at least some of that.

That only works if you are looking to buy a smaller property, such as when your family has grown up and left home; you are back to square one if you want a larger property because twins arrive

I would say that was rubbish having just bought one here (ok, not quite on lake-side) on the "Gold Coast".

On the sale contract, one can see what the last mortgage was and the capital gains, and in fact, it hardly grew at all.

There was a space just before the "+tax". I've created a tinyurl for the correct version:

Here we go

Hmmm.. I'd say "rubbish" is a bit harsh for a Sunday afternoon, especially as I started the sentence with "Apparently". I'll keep it to myself in future.