The Old Dog Presents: A Foreign Tax Haven Within Switzerland.

in #taxhaven7 years ago (edited)

They Don't Pay ANY Taxes?

About a 20-minute drive from my home sits an enormous casino which dominates the lakefront town of Campione D’Italia. In fact, if not for the casino, you'd hardly take any notice of this place! 

The modern building, designed by the internationally renowned Mario Botta, ensures that the citizens of Campione D’Italia pay NO personal or municipal income taxes! No taxes? Wow what a concept!


The building that fuels this tax free town dominates over it. Photo credit: www.campioneitalia.com

One of The World’s Most Unique and Least Known Tax Havens!  

Campione is one of the world's most unique and least-known tax havens, and therefore a very attractive option for those looking to escape the tax man! It is located on the lake Lugano, about a 10 minute drive from the city of Lugano and about 45 minutes from Milan.     

This strange place is an Italian enclave in Swiss national and economical territory and is entirely surrounded by Switzerland. There are no border controls which means that there is complete freedom to pass in and out of the town. 


The town benefits from a ferry service as well as abundant docking facilities. Photo credit: www.campioneitalia.com

What is an Enclave?   

  • In political geography, an enclave is a country or part of a country lying wholly within the boundaries of another country.   
  • The word enclave comes from the French, which in turn is derived from the Latin inclavatus meaning “shut in, locked up”.    
  • Some enclaves are countries on their own which are completely surrounded by another one. Examples of this would be San Marino in Italy, Vatican City and Lesotho in South Africa.    


Here you see the well maintained lakefront with the city of Lugano in the distance. This and all other photos are mine.

What Are The Tax Benefits of This Haven?  

Economically speaking Campione belongs to Switzerland with regard to banks, currency, duty, traffic, the postal system and the phone system.    

Contrary to the rest of Switzerland there is no problem for foreigners to obtain residence as long as they provide proof of property ownership. In theory, it would even be enough to prove having rented an apartment or a house but in practice there is virtually no property available for rent because of both scarcity and demand!   

The local authorities check to ensure that registered residents live at least some of the time in Campione. I can tell you that after many years of working in the area a vast number of the dwellings  remain uninhabited and are quite obviously used to avoid taxation. 

I once had a neighbor of mine who was a dentist and he kept a residence there but lived most of the time in Germany and in a nicer house near my home. The reason for this was simple. He paid NO TAXES!

   


A closer look at the colossal casino which was designed by the world famous local architect Mario Botta.


Although Campione's tax law is made within the framework of Italian tax law it has its own special regulations. There are no personal income tax and no municipal taxes at all in Campione because all of the community's income comes from its Casino!    

According to a treaty between Switzerland and Italy it is necessary to use Swiss banks and therefore Campione is a part of the Swiss currency area with all payments and investments being made in Swiss Francs. Campione residents, unlike other foreigners in Switzerland, are not subject to Switzerland's double taxation agreements which it has with many other countries including the U.S.A. For this reason profits from real estate, stocks, bonds, and other transactions, whether national or international are not registered for tax purposes. They must however, be funneled through Swiss banks.  

Quick Facts About Campione D’italia   

  • It has a small area of just 2.2 km² 
  • The population is about 2,200 
  • The enclave is, as the crow flies, less than 1 km from Italy but the mountainous terrain makes it a minimum of drive of 14 km.  



The non border which marks the entrance to the town. 

  What is The History of Campione D’Italia?   

  •   The Romans first settled it in the first century AD when they founded a garrison and called it Campilonum.     
  • In 777 Totone da Campione left the territory to the Milan and to the Monastry of Saint Ambrogio which was part of the ancient church built between 379–386 AD     
  • When Ticino (the southern Italian speaking Canton of Switzerland) chose to become part of the Swiss Confederation in 1798, Campione chose to remain part of Lombardy, which then became part of Italy in 1859.  

 Will You be Purchasing a Property in Campione D’italia?  

  If the price of Steem goes up to $10, $100 or even a $1,000 as some have speculated, you might have too!    

What do You Think?

  • Do you pay too much in taxes?
  • Are there any tax havens near you?
  • Do you actively do tax planning?


I hope that you enjoyed this article about "A Foreign Tax Haven Within Switzerland."


Until next time,


@kus-knee (The Old Dog)

Remember, if you upvote my post and leave a comment I will do my best to upvote it with some of my 41,000 plus Steem Power! 

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Such an excellent piece!

Thank you for sharing this invaluable information with us all. I have the strange feeling many people will start congregating in the area now... ;) I really enjoy the pictures and your presentation style as well while being a full article including history, geography, etymology, your personal experience there and, of course, a rather important discussion about taxes.

Here, I definitely feel like I pay way too much taxes, especially when one knows that way too much of it goes to subsidy all kinds of wars while making sure the majority of people will stay enslaved within the confines of that system. Nevertheless, I do pay taxes every year and plan on it diligently.

finding myself in a place such as the one your have elegantly shared with us is definitely a strong attractor for me. Thanks again and namaste :)

Thanks for your input @eric-boucher! Yes we dutifully pay our taxes but with good planning we can reduce them somewhat.

Right.i agree with you my dear friend.It's realy beautiful place. I feelings very happy.

Everybody feels that they are paying to much taxes.

No tax havens in Norway that's for sure. In Norway we have a tremendous tax burden to support the welfare state. Recently the Socialist government introduces property tax in Oslo, the capital. With an already extremely loan leverage property market, this is an idiotic move. Campione looks great! With a Steem price of $1000 I certainly move there for sure.

I'm sure though that Norway is a beautiful place. We almost went there for our summer vacation. Next time!

Beautiful, yes! Tax haven, no! It is actually one initiative that has launched the first private 'city' in the southern Norway. There is supposedly no tax, the city is based on non-aggression and voluntaryism (http://www.liberstad.no)

and plz dont forget me ok take me with u :p

Oh Mario Botta è stato uno dei miei architetti preferiti quando ero all'università! L'ho anche conosciuto ad un convegno...Bravissimo. Devo dire che questa sua architetture è assai "importante" in quel delicato paesaggio di Campione....Insomma la sua architettura razionale a me piace molto ma , in questo caso specifico, l'inserimento nel paesaggio forse è un poco...troppo invadente...

Yes he is much loved in this area and architectural students and enthusiasts flock here to see and photograph his buildings. The casino is VERY big for its location!

In Hungary there are very high taxes. Our average income compared to the western income is very low. VAT is the highest in the world, I think, it is 27%, even at essential food! That's why half of Hungary's popularity is poor. Many people (1 or 2 millions) leaved the country for the promise of higher income and lower taxes. The tax audit is very strict, but only poor people are punished, often with a fine of HUF million, even for small things. The really wealthy billionaires cheat and steal taxes and buy everything in the country. However, most of their wealth is held abroad in tax havens. But I'm not envious of them, nor do I hate them because I know the law of karma.
Tax havens near Hungary? I don't know...perhaps Campione :)))
Tax planning? Yes, I'm more conscious in this thing, I note every income and cost, I ask for bills of eligible assets and materials.
I still do not complain, and I'm very grateful for the fate to get to know STEEM. This is my future I think!

What a great comment. Last year I had the pleasure of meeting a woman who had returned to Hungary from Australia after about 40 years abroad. She loves it and mentioned that it is much cheaper and perfect for pensioners. VAT on food. That's sad!

This is the fact here. I already know that I will not have a pension from the state. I have to take care of myself and here comes the opportunity of STEEM. In a few months I have created more value than before in 2 years. I cover my costs (mainly travelling) exclusively from here.

OMG @kalemandra! Poverty because of high tax!!!

I had heard that the real estate prices are very cheap there e.g. near the Lake Balaton. May be because of the higher availability of properties as you told that millions of people are emigrating out of Hungary and also because poor people don't have any disposable income to inflate the prices there. So isn't it a blessing in disguise? I mean, property prices are very steep in most parts of the developed world. Even if other commodity prices are cheap, you can't save enough to afford a decent property to live in. So I think if you save enough Steem, you may as well buy a property there with that 😊

BTW, it would be a lot more difficult to buy any property in Campione. This Old Dog just keep bringing us some piped dreams for us from his travels. LOL! But thanks to @kus-knee at least we get some stuff to dream on. (Some say dreams are good for health. Personally, I feel more healthier after such beautiful dreams. For me, this is a sort of health blog. Ha Ha!)

Yes the world is a strange place. I have no dream of going to Campione as I prefer a cabin in the woods!

Fascinating article! Do you have any idea how much the cheapest condo or cottage costs in that town? I have a feeling that property is very expensive. Can any EU citizen live there since it is part of Italy?

I'm not looking for a place but you could easily check the prices on line. For sure more expensive than outside of the town.

In Ukraine, we pay big taxes, my friend! I expect the growth of Steem, I want real estate there! Thank you @kus-knee for sharing!
Look at my beautiful roses blooming on the shore of the estuary:
https://steemit.com/photography/@olga.maslievich/daily-beautiful-rose-on-the-shore-of-the-estuary-for-you-4-original-pictures

Yes, we can never really escape them!

Enjoy your time kus-knee :)

You too happy wanderer!

Thanks for these interesting information of a special city in our neighborood!

Hey air brush man! Thanks for the visit!

Hey Kus you'll be at the bbq this sunday?

I'm thinking yes!

Wow... Now I know where I want to move!!!

Whenever I see your avatar I go ape!

I resemble that remark! I had some kind of breakdown over the weekend and went a little ape (ok a lot) Sorry for the brevity of my remarks earlier, I was really sick! What a wonderful place to live that must be (or even visit) Not only do I like their tax structure, it looks absolutely beautiful. I wonder how they manage it without taxing everybody to death (voice dripping with sarcasm)!

New Hampshire here in the US used to be a little like that... there was no property taxes only a sales tax mostly on booze. All of the liberals that think the taxpayers should pay for all of their ambitious social programs moved there to avoid property taxes in Taxachusetts... How do you spell hypocricy??? I forget!

That is a pretty good place , at-least no TAX (Sounds great)
and the place seems cool
definitely anybody would not miss the chance to move over to the Tax haven city .

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