Comments on: Yahoo Relocating European HQ From UK To Switzerland

By: Matthew

Matthew — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:27:38 +0000

Yahoo went to Rolle because they could negotiate a favourable tax deal with the canton of Vaud. Quite a lot of companies restructure in this way — by moving strategic parts of their operations to Switzerland, they can dramatically reduce their worldwide effective tax rate.

As far as individual employees suffering, don’t worry too much. It is usually senior executives who are asked to move to Switzerland, and many of them have significant enough revenue streams of their own that they can negotiate individual tax deals. For those who can’t, the packages to relocate are generous enough to make it worth their while to move.

Finally — for those who worried about the high cost of Swiss labour, fear not. The tax and operational savings for a deal like this are typically huge, much bigger than the difference in salary.

By: Martin

Martin — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:20:35 +0000

The new offices are going to be in Rolle which is on Lake Geneva…Just heard froma friend. Total jobs expected to be in Rolle are approx. 200…

By: Patrik

Patrik — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 21:41:10 +0000

What if Yahoo moved to Switzerland not only for tax reasons, but also because of the secure and steady electricity flow and low energy prices? I heard people speculating that this might have been a reason too as yahoo is building a new datacenter in .ch. for this they bought a piece of land equal to 600 x 600 meters it was reported last fall: http://snurl.com/yahooland (in german).

By: Google European Operations Moving to Zurich |

Google European Operations Moving to Zurich | — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 20:06:46 +0000

[...] so. EA and Cisco Systems have also relocated their European operations to the country as well. Some media sources claim that the move is partly due to special tax breaks the company will receive in Switzerland, even though it was reported in 2004 that the company was [...]

By: Andy

Andy — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:30:34 +0000

I would think this move is definitely due to tax changes in the UK.

Corporation tax is attractive in Switzerland but Switzerland is not part of the EU.

I wouldn’t say Switzerland has an abundance of technical talent though, certainly not a high liquidity.

Andy

By: steve

steve — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 17:23:07 +0000

Dear all,

it is not all about tax, but maybe Yahoo! did the not so good move as Switzerland is well in the EU but not using the Euro as currency nor seen as a European country.

Whereas Luxembourg is as well as neutral place to grow your European business but with the full EU advantages coupled with a neutral image.

Best,

By: Andrew J Scott

Andrew J Scott — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 11:29:49 +0000

This is a significant loss to the UK and London as a center for tech. So many things seem to confirm our decision to shift our HQ to the Bay Area in the U.S.

By: Joe

Joe — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 18:52:43 +0000

Switzerland offers not only tax breaks for corporations but also the highest quality of life, which helps attract top employees – as well as a good share of major global sports and entertainment celebrities… for whom the personal tax level is lower than in any of the EU countries. Google already has its HQ in Zurich and IBM has for decades had its global R&D center outside Zurich, also the location of the HQ of Dow Chemical since the ’60s by the way.

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 16:48:07 +0000

This must be a direct response to the British government raising corporation from 10% to 18%. Didn’t take long for the British government to drive their first big company out of the UK! No?

andy

By: FredTheSwiss

FredTheSwiss — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 15:05:18 +0000

@otis: Zug is *not* Tax free. (We all whish)

@many_commenters: Yahoo is going to “Vaud” (a State) which is next to Geneva (The State not the City). Taxes are lower.

Why did they go there:
- Taxes. But Ireland is better than Switzerland. So it is not the only reason.
- Swiss currency is really low for US compared to euros or pounds which will make the project cheaper!
- Employees can find a cheaper house compared as around London.
- Security.
- Quality of life.
- Google, IBM R&D are not far.
- International top rated univercities around.
- There is an international airport close to the place and it is not as much on strike, delay, overload, etc. as the ones around London.

BTW: Lake Geneva does not exist. It has been invented by the Tourism office. Its real name is: Leman Lake.

By: Andy

Andy — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 13:58:52 +0000

Switzerland is a strange old place for tax. Yahoo! may have great deal for corporation tax with the Geneva authorities, but I’m afraid to say Yahoo! employees won’t have it so good. Income tax is different depending on which kanton (county or state) and gemeinde (regions within the kanton) you live in and Geneva isn’t one of the best rates you can get in Switzerland due to 30% of the city not paying any tax because they work for the UN or Cern. The city needs an income through income tax so the authorities make up the short fall by raising taxes for the rest of the citizens in Geneva.

You can get your tax down to about 10% Kantons Zug and Schwyz, Geneva would be nearer 20% for the kind of salaries Yahoo! employees are on (providing the salary is healthy). But this is where the world seems to be misled with Switzerland because on top of income tax, you have to pay health insurance, social insurance, 1st and 2nd pillar pension contributions and sickness insurance (maybe one of these is an employer contribution only, I can’t remember – but by the same token, I might have missed one too!).

So depending on where you live in Switzerland, “tax” (which includes all contributions above) can be very high, or very low. The main tax advantage over here is that not paying taxes is not a federal offense, ie., you can’t be put in jail for tax evasion, or late payment, or “misunderstandings” etc. At the end of the day, you still have to pay.

Andy (been stung by tax in Switzerland a couple of times)

By: Martin Owen

Martin Owen — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:32:29 +0000

“In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, bloodshed — they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”

The Third Man
Orson Wells via Graham Green

By: n

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:36:19 +0000

Interesting move. Google already has a large office in Switzerland (Zurich), so I guess this will increase the ‘war for talent’.

By: http://www.fantasysportsmatrix.com

http://www.fantasysportsmatrix.com — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:43:19 +0000

yahoo is scrambling..

By: http://www.jeqq.com

http://www.jeqq.com — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:21:12 +0000

yahoo should be every were

By: inkjetoffice

inkjetoffice — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 04:16:11 +0000

Why UK? Why Switzerland? It’s a global economic now. Yahoo should just build a HQ up in the space. Otherwise, it’ll another step late once Google has its HQ up there.

http://blog.inkjetoffice.com
http://www.inkjetoffice.com

By: iServiceshop

iServiceshop — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 04:01:01 +0000

We agree with Steen’s take;
Nobody ever lost any money moving to the globe’s favorite tax haven..

The Team
http://iservice...op.blogspot.com

By: Miracle Blade

Miracle Blade — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 03:51:24 +0000

I don’t think Yahoo! is too keen to sell up.

By: Mike

Mike — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 01:32:28 +0000

Interesting this news breaks just as Google show off their shiny new offices in Switzerland

By: Otis Gospodnetic

Otis Gospodnetic — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 00:58:48 +0000

Isn’t there a town called Zug (or something close to that) in Switzerland that’s a tax-free ehaven for companies? Is there where Y! is relocating?

Oh, yeah, here: http://en.wikip...ia.org/wiki/Zug (found via Google, ironically)

By: Jay

Jay — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:47:24 +0000

5% seems like a very low number, unless it refers to Yahoo’s total work force.

By: Paul

Paul — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:42:19 +0000

Happy trail’s, and hope they like chocolate’s

By: Steen

Steen — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 23:41:36 +0000

Hopefully the tax brakes are significant enough to offset the high cost of labor in Switzerland.