Rosy tax rates for rich foreigners could end in Geneva
Geneva, Switzerland (Le Temps, Fre) – The Socialist Party in Geneva has submitted a proposal that would change the canton’s tax laws by abolishing lump sum tax agreements for very wealthy foreigners. Geneva currently has some 650 foreign residents who benefit from the lump sum break, worth CHF70 million a year in revenue for the canton, according to Le Temps.
The proposal would end new tax concessions on 31 December 2009 and alow existing agreements to last until 2012. The Socialists are following the lead of Zurich, which voted by more than 53 percent in February 2009 to end its similar tax breaks.
Socialists in Geneva argue that the law as it stands is unfair: the lump sum concessions which are offered by several cantons are not available to wealthy Swiss citizens.
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News story, GenevaLunch, 26 May 2009.
Filed under: Society
Tags: Geneva, lump sum tax, rich, Socialists, tax rates, wealthy