Yahoo! leaves! London!

Re: Livingstone take note

What nonsense. This has nothing to do with local taxes, and everything to do with corporate taxes. The last thing the UK should do is start to worry about being tax equivalent to places like Switzerland. It is not a country we should be hoping to emulate.

Non-dom or High Net Worth

Or alternatively the non-doms and/or High Net Worth individuals in Yahoo! London don't fancy the new tax regime and like many others in their position are moving to non-dom/HNW friendly Switzerland.

Paris because if she lived in London she would be both a non-dom and a HNW and would leave for Switzerland too.

Re: Livingstone take note

What are you on about? They're leaving because of corporation tax. As if a massive company like Yahoo! is going to go through a major relocation - risking losing senior staff in the process - because of some pissy little congestion charge or a minor hike in council tax.

@ Duncan Hothersall

No of course we shouldn't emulate Switzerland.

Low Taxation, very efficient public transport, very efficient public services, clean streets, friendly people.

Hell we should be sticking with our own idea of Utopia, a quagmire of high taxes, inefficient workers, a transport system that provides 3rd world services for 1st world prices and the efficiency level of our public services comparing favourably with only Zimbabwe.

You are so right.

@Duncan

Typical socialist claptrap. Corporate taxes are far too high here.

Take away the tax raised from globalised companies like BP, Vodafone, Shell, GlaxoSmithKline, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland et alia ad nauseam and especially from the rich people who work for them and live in the UK, and who will pay for all the socialist sacred cows like the NHS and the welfare state?

Notice the improvement in the Irish economy, and INCREASED tax take since they slashed corporation tax.

@ Hedley Lamarr

You're wrong ... we currently have the highest tax burden in history of the UK, not just in memory (at least according to Ernst & Young). ;-)

The present 38+ per cent is higher than the 37.7 per cent peak reached in the early 1980s when the top rate of income tax was 60 per cent, and is more than the burden of the 1970s when the top rate was 83 per cent.

So it's all in those stealth taxes ... and corporation / capital gains / etc taxes.

Black helicopters because they are authoritarian socialists too.

@@ Duncan Hothersall

yeah bring on male suicide rates of 26.5 per 100,000!

Print and be Damned

With every country having its own government and different government practices, that must make government an experiment sequestering public funds on subjective pet projects..... controlled by Money Worries perpetrated by Third Party Money Vendors/Federal Reservists/Paper Cowboys.

In my dreams

I wish my place of work moved to Switzerland.

The Scenic Router ...... for Magical Mystery Turing Trips ...... SurReal Episodes:-)

"I wish my place of work moved to Switzerland." ...... In my dreams, live and prepare for your life as you wish, it can.

no wonder

Running a business in the UK and having lived in Switzerland beforehand - I can totally see why they are doing it.

Based on corporation tax ireland seems to be the popular tech head office for europe destination.

Blame the government please.

@Elmer Phud

The 'racisit' system you deplore:

"Switzerland has Europe's toughest naturalisation laws. Foreigners must live for 12 years in a Swiss community before they can apply, and being born in Switzerland brings no right to citizenship.

Under the current system, foreigners apply through their local town or village.

They appear before a citizenship committee and answer questions about their desire to be Swiss. After that, they must often be approved by the entire voting community, in a secret ballot, or a show of hands. "

Sounds super to me.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6992670.stm

@Elmer Phud

The Swiss operate a true democracy with referendums on every issue which enables everyone to vote and decisions to be made by the people. The difference between this true democracy and ours is that even though over 50% of the country is opposed to something like the hunting ban, a political party can force it through. Even though the majority of people were against the invasion and subsequent occupations of afghanistand and iraq, the government can do what they please for the full duration of their term in office (and even change leaders so we have an unelected prime minister).

The side effect of this is that the people naturally want to keep their country for themselves and are not all that keen on letting the whole of poland in to claim from their benefits system. As a nation they have a pretty solid work ethic as well so only want people of a similar disposition to be allowed in. The democratic process allows for people within a canton to vote to allow or disallow a new resident to gain citizenship and if my home town had been given the vote I doubt we would have voted to be over run with immigrants.

Losers

"Switzerland, despite its low taxation, is a very unpleasant place to live. Trust me, I spent more than a year there."

What is hell for some is heaven for others!

Very little crime, very high democracy, very good state schools, very good healthcare and other services, very nice scenery, very nice people, very nice cheese and chocolate, very high quality of local food and wine, very carefully managed immigration policy to ensure a match between demand and supply.

No it is not paradise and has its issues as well, but there are far more pluses than minuses.

And this comes from experience of living and working there far more than a measely 1 year.

Come on over Micro-hoo, you are welcome, and you will have a great time here!

*Shakes head*

Where do I get the neural implant so I too can have the Daily Mail's criminally woeful brand of 'news for people who can't think for themselves' beamed directly into my brain? (Satellite 5 perhaps?)

I swear, if I have to have the 'Poles, coming over here, taking our jobs and eating our swans' conversation one more time I'll explode in a fit of bigot-induced rage.

One man's mead is another man's poison. Every country on Earth has pros and cons and pros for some will be cons for others. I happen to like the pros I see in this country and the cons, whilst plentiful, are still not close to being outweighed. And there'd be a lot more room, and less carbon dioxide emitted through hot air, if the serial whingers would go through on their promise and leave those of us who don't judge their quality of life by the size of their bank balance in peace. And good luck with that wild-goose-chase to find paradise on Earth.