According to the local newspaper Tribune de Geneve, Mohamed al-Fayed moved to Geneva in the spring of 2003 and was granted taxation under a special regime, the so-called lump sum taxation. In August 2004, he moved on and headed for Monaco. Why would he prefer the Mediterranean to Lake Geneva? Had he overlooked something?
The bulk of Swiss tax is levied at cantonal level, and foreign nationals taking up residence in Switzerland may elect to be taxed on a lump sum basis. While some Swiss cantons have been offering lump sum taxation for decades, since 2001 all cantons do so. The privilege applies at federal level as well. The reason given for the regime is the difficulty involved in prop-erly assessing foreign income and assets.
