Handbook for Investors. Business location in Switzerland.

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13. Living in Switzerland. Thanks to the excellent quality of life and the safe environment, life expectancy in Switzerland is among the highest in the world. The undamaged natural surroundings and varied cultural and recreational opportunities attract not only many tourists but also well-qualified foreign employees. Swiss households have an average monthly earned income of CHF 6,298, of which about 70 % remains as disposable income for consumption after deduction of social security contributions and taxes. Switzerland therefore has the highest purchasing power in the world, despite relatively high prices. 13.1 Safety and quality of life. Switzerland is a very safe country and offers an extremely high quality of life. Switzerland receives high marks, in both cities and rural regions, for important criteria such as income, healthcare, climate and geography, political stability, safety and security, individual freedoms, and family and community life. Fig. 65: Global comparison of quality of living, 2009 New York, USA = 100 1 Vienna, Austria 108.6 2 Zurich, Switzerland 108.0 3 Geneva, Switzerland 107.9 4 Vancouver, Canada 107.4 4 Auckland, New Zealand 107.4 6 Düsseldorf, Germany 107.2 7 Munich, Germany 107.0 8 Frankfurt, Germany 106.8 9 Berne, Switzerland 106.5 10 Sydney, Australia 106.3 11 Copenhagen, Denmark 106.2 13 Amsterdam, Netherlands 105.7 14 Brussels, Belgium 105.4 16 Berlin, Germany 105.0 19 Luxembourg, Luxembourg 104.6 25 Dublin, Ireland 103.6 26 Singapore, Singapore 103.5 35 Tokyo, Japan 102.2 38 London, UK 101.6 49 New York, USA 100.0 Source: Mercer Survey, Quality of Living Global City Rankings Everyone is guaranteed freedom of movement and safety – everywhere and at all times. There are relatively few large population centers or extensive monotonous and impersonal housing developments. Children generally walk to school unaccompanied. The safe environment and the traditional discretion of the Swiss people are widely valued. Even internationally known celebrities can often move about in Switzerland without personal protection. 120 Handbook for Investors 2010
Fig. 66: Personal safety, 2008 New York, USA = 100 1 Luxembourg, Luxembourg 131.4 2 Berne, Switzerland 126.3 2 Geneva, Switzerland 126.3 2 Helsinki, Finland 126.3 2 Zurich, Switzerland 126.3 6 Vienna, Austria 121.1 7 Oslo, Norway 120.8 7 Stockholm, Sweden 120.8 9 Singapore, Singapore 120.2 10 Auckland, New Zealand 119.4 10 Wellington, New Zealand 119.4 12 Copenhagen, Denmark 117.2 12 Düsseldorf, Germany 117.2 12 Frankfurt, Germany 117.2 12 Munich, Germany 117.2 12 Nuremberg, Germany 117.2 17 Dublin, Ireland 117.0 22 Amsterdam, Netherlands 115.8 28 Brussels, Belgium 114.3 35 Tokyo, Japan 111.5 40 Berlin, Germany 111.4 43 Hong Kong, China 109.9 Source: Mercer Survey, Quality of Living Global City Rankings Fig. 67: Attractiveness for highly qualified employees from foreign countries, 2009 1 = not attractive, 10 = very attractive 1 Switzerland 8.77 2 Singapore 8.22 3 US 7.80 4 Australia 7.63 5 Canada 7.46 7 Hong Kong SAR 7.42 8 UK 7.30 9 Ireland 7.00 10 Luxembourg 6.96 12 Russia 6.10 13 China 6.05 15 Netherlands 5.98 22 Belgium 5.43 23 India 5.34 25 France 5.22 26 Brazil 5.15 29 Germany 5.07 33 Denmark 4.72 44 Japan 4.07 54 Italy 3.00 Source: IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2009 13.2 Relocation and integration. There are currently more than 6,500 foreign enterprises operating in and from Switzerland. Almost 90 % of them would decide again in favor of Switzerland if they had to make a new location decision. Many of them often send foreign managers and specialists to Switzerland for short-term temporary stays to work as expatriates. There are specialized relocation agencies, expat groups, books and websites designed to help these transferred employees orient themselves quickly to life in Switzerland. Swiss information platform www.swissinfo.org Languages: German, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, Chinese, Japanese Expatriates in Switzerland www.expatexchange.com www.xpatxchange.ch www.glocals.com www.englishforum.ch Language: English www.justlanded.com/schweiz Languages: German, English, Italian Handbook for Investors 2010 121
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Handbook for Investors. Business lo
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Welcome. Dear Reader, By choosing t
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Table of contents. Advantages offer
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10.3.4 Cross-border commuters .....
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9. Excellent educational institutio
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1.2 Climate. Switzerland’s climat
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Despite the close proximity of diff
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1.7.2 Direct investments and Swiss
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1.8 Switzerland in figures. Fig. 7:
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Fig. 9: Industry structure, percent
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2.2.2 Direct investments In additio
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The medical technology industry is
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Dachorganisation Informatik- und Te
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3. Economic framework. Free competi
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Customs information www.zoll.admin.
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Swiss Federal Institute of Intellec
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In the main, Swiss product liabilit
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3.5.2 Environment Swiss environment
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4.2 Political and economic cooperat
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4.3 The euro. Even though the offic
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The following criteria are crucial
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Liability Minimum capital Consultin
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Sole proprietorship and general par
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5.4.2 Entry in the commercial regis
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Fig. 19: Do I need a visa? I would
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6.1.3 Application procedure 1. Pers
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6.3.3 Special case: students The pr
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EU/EFTA nationals EU-17 (original E
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Social insurance for foreign nation
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7.1.2 Temporary accommodation and f
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Fig. 27: Construction sites: market
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Fig. 29: Market prices for owner-oc
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Fig. 30: Permit requirement by grou
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8. Labor market and labor laws. Swi
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Page 133 and 134: R&D project grants are available in
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Handbook for Investors. Business location in Switzerland.

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