TAXES:Higher in France or Switzerland?

[Minima]

Are the taxes higher in France or in Switzerland?

[thegirth]

As aircrew in France you are considered to be an "Artiste" and therefore only get taxed at 5%.

I don't think the Swiss can beat that.

[Paddler]

Hi,

Direct comparison with Switzerland is difficult as the bulk of tax is Canton based, not Federal.

For comparisons, go to the site :-http://www.anzeiger.ch/nh/index_n.htm

Click on "Steuern hoch oder tief" first option under Special tools, and on the next screen, click on "tool", dead centre of the screen. At the bottom of the new window, click on "Liste aller Gemeinden" and you get every Swiss Tax area. Zug, at the top, graded 6, is the cheapest.

Click on the town of choice and you get a representation of costs, layed out:-
Single, Married, Married/2 Kids, Married/Retired.

Its cheaper if you're an atheist as Church Tax is steep!

Cheers,

Paddler

PS A German/English dictionary would be helpful!

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Are we having fun yet?

[Momo]

As a general statement, with the exception of the "artiste" clause mentioned above, income taxes in Switzerland are half those in France, as a rule of thumb. There are huge variations from canton to canton, and indeed from village to village. In addition, VAT is 7%, versus something like 17% in France. When I lived in Geneva, I paid 28% income tax (federal, cantonal and local), but when I moved to Vaud canton, just next door, my income tax total dropped to 15%.

Housing is much much more expensive in Switzerland than in France. Cars and electronics are cheaper in Switzerland. Petrol is much cheaper too. Food is much, much cheaper in France, as are restaurants.

However, if you are employed in Switzerland, as a foreigner, you are generally required to live in the canton where you are employed. An exception is for "Frontalier" people who have to be citizens of the bordering country and to have lived within 30 km of the border for six months, or some such nonsense.

Momo