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A castle in Montreux
| Gustav Mannerheim (1867-1951) | The Finnish general and hero of the winter war retired in Montreux after his mandate as President of Finland (1944-1946). Many Finns come and visit his statue in a lovely park on the lakeside in Montreux. Mannerheim died in Lausanne in 1951 and was given a national funerals in Helsinki.
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Recently retired from
Finnish telecom beemoth Nokia, where he was a top manager, Mr. R. wanted out of Finland. Tired of his country's long and depressing winters, he was looking for a country with a better weather and a friendly tax environment. Mr. R. came to see us with his wife in May 2000 to see how that could be possible. Take the first you see
Having decided to live in the Montreux area like Finnish General Mannerheim , they first wanted to investigate accommodation . Mr. R. retained our house search services to find a new home. Within a few days our team had located several attractive apartments and we arranged the visits. Mr. and Mrs. R. were so pleased with the first apartment they saw that Mr. R. decided to follow his mother's wisdom (" You always end up taking the first you see ."), and signed the lease immediately. Was he right? Judge by yourself :  | | The
living room came furnished with antiques © Micheloud & Co. |
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Castle with a view
The apartment spreads over 3 floors of a 15th century castle in Montreux,
formerly owned by the Count of Savoie : A 6 room apartment with over 370 m2 of living surface, stunning overlooking view over Lake Geneva and a splendid private garden. The living room only is 70 m2. The apartment came fully furnished with antique furniture, 18th
century paintings and a medieval wine cellar connected to the master bedroom by an elevator. The 500m2 garden ends with a two car garage accessible from the road.
Oh, yes, the rent. A very reasonable rent of Sfr.5'000 a month. A fast application
Once the lease signed, we had to fill his application fast. With the high effectiveness of Scandinavian executives, Mr. R. sent us all the documents we needed within 10 days and we filled an application for Swiss Fiscal Deal residence permitin June 2000. We kept in touch with the R. by email as they were enjoying their summer in
the South of France. Soon we got the fiscal administration to approve a lump-sum taxation agreement (" forfait fiscal") which allowed our clients to pay a reasonable, fixed tax every year, with no relations to their non-Swiss wealth or income.  | | The
terrace with an overlooking view over Lake Geneva © Micheloud & Co. |
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The Swiss population administrations were almost as fast as Mr. R. in processing his application. In less than 2 months we received approval from municipal, cantonal and federal authorities, a record. Moving in
Once the resident status secured, Mr. R. was eager to solve as many practical details as he could before moving in. Communicating by email we asked about his needs and began to arrange such as personal and house insurances, electricity, internet connection, ISDN telephone lines, the painting of the apartment, etc … Especially important was the selection
of a reliable and reasonably-priced gardener for the apartment's
splendid garden, a totally private haven overlooking the lake and planted with
secular oaks. Click to see Mr. R. gardening tool cave from outside and from inside ,
and the public
cellar with its motto ( For him know knows how to understand, few words
are necessary ).  | | Mr. R.
private garden (©
Micheloud & Co.) |
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A Jaguar man
As a car connoisseur, Mr. R. always dreamed of buying a car without having taxes double the price. Living in Switzerland, he had two choices to do this. First, he could buy a car in Switzerland, where only 7.5% VAT is charged. Second, he could take advantage of Finland's attractive export prices for cars, among the lowest in Europe, and import a car from Finland to Switzerland. Mr. R. asked us to bargain prices with local Jaguar dealers to
get their best offer, and we compared the price difference between Swiss prices
and the total cost of importing a new Jaguar from Finland. However, the model
Mr. R. wanted was ready to ship in Helsinki and he decided to import the car to
Switzerland. We took care of the car importation paperwork too. | A house with a story | | Mr. R. apartment occupies the 3 top floors of
a 15th century castle in the old city of Montreux. It was
previously owned by the Count of Savoy, who resided in his other
castle, Chillon (picture). The ruler of the area, he used the Montreux castle
as a residence for his guests when Chillon was full and in
case of emergency. It is rumored that a tunnel connects it to
Chillon, but even though we were shown the entrance, we have
been unable to verify this claim. |
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Interview of Mr. B. in Montreux, September 2000 |
After Mr. R. and his wife had moved in, we came to ask them what it was
like to be in Switzerland:
| How does it feel like to be in Switzerland for good? |
We are very pleased, and our first impressions were
even better than expected. The weather was terrific and our neighbours
friendly and helpful. We had read that we should expect Swiss people to be
cold but our experience so far is excellent. | What do you enjoy most in Switzerland ? |
It is centrally located in Europe,
with short access to all parts of the continent. The weather is milder than in Finland. There are skiing possibilities
which as Finns we enjoy. Moreover, it is a well organized society, cleaner than the rest of Europe and the trains get
on time. What you read on the train schedule, you are certain that
the train will get exactly as predicted, pünktlich as you say. | Which other countries did you compare to Switzerland
before deciding where to retire ? |
The UK, Spain and France. Switzerland had the advantage
of offering high quality of life and lower taxes. We certainly do pay taxes in
Switzerland, but the total annual amount is still much less than the Finnish
wealth tax only. And that would apply in other EU countries as well. | What was it
like to work with Micheloud & Co. ? |
A pleasure. It was simple and fast.
Everything I called you for, you arranged. We especially enjoyed your fast
response.
This article has been published with the consent of our client who has
reviewed and approved it before it was published. |