whit
558
I can understand the tax burden and am
hopeful this interview was meant to send a message to the tax masters in Geneva that it may be prudent to step back and re-think their tax policy or they may just find themselves losing others besides Patek.
Of course the past twenty years has enriched the company to a level that this is now amounting to some pretty serious money to shell out just to be in Geneva.
It would be a pity for Geneva to lose Patek and likewise for Patek to re-locate elsewhere in Switzerland. 175 years is, and should be, a pretty meaningful number to both. But, get money involved and sometimes common sense seems to make no sense at the end of the day.
Patek needs to be in Geneva just as the US distributor needs to be in New York, not in Lizard Lick, NC. I'm sure HSWA could do what they do in New York as easily as Lizard Lick but New York is the showplace and where they should be, in spite of any tax savings, just as Geneva is the showplace and where Patek belongs.
Hopefully, there is some common ground to be found which is reasonable and satisfactory to both.
Patek Philippe may leave Geneva!
I just want to share some of the latest PP news directly from their CEO. Le Temps, a Geneva based newspaper reports an interview with T. Stern few days before Basel. Production is now 55,000; number of employees in Switzerland is 1,600 and 2,200 worldwide...
LOL! If you think that the savings in taxes will.....
be passed on to the customers......you must be dreaming;) The fashionable thing to do these days is minimise cost and maximise profit. However we are not talking about profit to the society here, we are talking about personal profit, the "toujours plus" s...
Makes perfect sense to me....
Many people/companies are choosing their preferences. Like the recent vote with Ukraine and Russia, we also have Venice and Italy ( )... While some timepiece enthusiasts may choose to be romantic about Geneva, it is not the only location on planet Earth ...
It does make sense
I have been leaving in Switzerland for seven years now and low tax rates are really reserved for foreigners that do not work here like formula 1 drivers and tennis players. I also happen to work in La Chaux-de-Fonds, I saw the new Patek Phillipe building ...
It is true that Geneva is not what it used to be.....
that's for sure. Actually, I wouldn't mind at all if PP were not based in Geneva. I think Perth, on the Indian Ocean, would be the perfect place;) Cheers Francois from Down Under
a joke?
don't get me wrong but i hope you're joking....did you really accept that PP move to another city or country? to pay less taxes? why they don't put some ETA movements inside so they can even more money? if you don't care about the PP's heritage, no doubt ...
Nope - no joke
Here is part of the original article, you can Google-Translate it, the last paragraph in particular. Le Temps is a pretty serious newspaper, they interview T. Stern once or twice a year since watchmaking is an important industry in Switzerland, and last t...
The numbers...
Interesting, thanks! So if they did 1.1 billion CHF in sales and sold 55,000 watches, that's 20,000 CHF per watch on average (and assumes no income from other activities such as servicing), right? Hmmm... Does that make sense? I would have thought it woul...
Why not?
Sounds about right. The bulk of those 55,000 watches will probably come from the lower end of the range, ladies' quartz watches etc. Also, bear in mind that they sell to ADs at wholesale and not retail...
More news
Today, the same newspaper published some follow-ups; officials from Geneva canton are refusing to answer. It turns out that in Geneva canton, if you own your business like the Stern, you have to pay an annual tax of 1% of the value of the company (estimat...
I guess PP can find a way to separate main value&activities from the Geneva based company
The holding could be elsewhere in Switzerland, with just an asssembling factory in Geneva. But I understand this is an important issue for PP.
It doesn't really matter...
.... as long as they make nice watches, if they move somewhere in another canton in switzerland, who cares.
I can understand the tax burden and am
hopeful this interview was meant to send a message to the tax masters in Geneva that it may be prudent to step back and re-think their tax policy or they may just find themselves losing others besides Patek. Of course the past twenty years has enriched th...