Our knowledgeable workforce, excellent infrastructure, and stimulating business environment are tailor-made for cutting edge technologies. The cantonal governments are committed to using their resources to the utmost in attracting and retaining international economic development.

1 TAXATION
Western Switzerland offers you a comprehensive, flexible program for new activities. All tax alleviations and exemptions are subject to a tax ruling by the tax authorities of the state or canton where the project will be realized.

A. INDUSTRIAL AND SERVICE INDUSTRY COMPANIES
	A newly created company, industrial or service industry company qualifies for State, municipal and federal tax alleviations on profit and capital Maximum : 100 percent exemption of taxable profit and of taxable capital Maximum duration of 10 years The decision depends on the approval of the company's business plan by the bank, the state, and the federal government, respectively. These entities primarily take into consideration the contribution of the project to the area and the quality of the management, the company and the activities. The federal tax alleviations mainly apply to industrial areas of Western Switzerland and exclude certain regions on Lake Geneva.
B. COMPANIES WITH INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES (MIXED COMPANY)
	International services companies that are controlled from abroad and have at least 70 percent of their revenues coming from abroad qualify for a privileged tax rate *. Maximum between 10 to 11 percent taxation of profits resulting from foreign revenues (federal, state and municipal) Taxation of capital between 0.1 and 0.16 percent This rate applies chiefly to revenue coming from: Distribution of goods International commercial activity (purchase and sale of any products that do not pass through Switzerland) Account management (financing, cash management, currency) Licences, diplomas, trademarks, and patents Operations of European or international headquarters (accounting, salaries, information collection, etc.) Centralized purchases Leasing Income from any company-related insurance program Marketing Please note : In Switzerland, company taxes paid are considered as deductible commercial expenses. What matters is the effective net tax rate which already takes into consideration the above deduction possibility. This documentation therefore indicates the effective net tax rates.
C. DOMICILIARY COMPANY
	International services companies that focus exclusively on administrative activities, are not engaged in any commercial activities and have practically no Swiss revenue (less than 5 percent) qualify for a privileged tax rate. Maximum between 9 and 11 percent taxation of profits resulting from foreign and Swiss revenues (federal, state and municipal) Taxation of capital between 0.1 and 0.16 percent
D. PRINCIPAL COMPANY
	Swiss companies often are part of an international group and sell their goods through foreign commissionaires who are part of the same group. The Swiss authorities may consider such commissionaires as permanent establishments of the Swiss Company acting as the principal. The tax authorities can reduce the taxable profit realized by the Swiss principal to 50 percent, cutting the overall tax burden to a level between 6 and 8.5 percent.
E. SERVICE COMPANIES (COST PLUS)
	Administrative companies perform functions or services for foreign-affiliated firms, offering administrative, technical, scientific, or marketing assistance. Such costs are covered by an affiliated company that in numerous cases is the parent company. Administrative companies are taxed according to the system of cost plus. The tax burden is between 1 and 2 percent of the local direct expenses principally salaries and rent.
F. HOLDING
	Dividends coming from substantial participation are exempt from taxes at the state, municipal and federal levels, for an unlimited amount of time. If the participation is not substantial (i.e., interest is less than 20 percent of the firm's capital or less than two million Swiss francs), dividends are subject to normal tax income. The capital tax is between 0.1 and 0.16 percent.

2 FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
A newly created venture from the industry or service industry can benefit from the following advantages:

A - State guaranteed loan

B - Contribution to interest service

The principal criteria taken into consideration for the state guaranteed loan and the interest services are the contribution of the project to the area, the quality of the management, the company and the activities.

The financial program focuses mainly on the industrial areas and cover most regions of Western Switzerland.

C - Financing studies

Western Switzerland can help underwrite the cost of studies whose objective is to introduce new projects and will improve product development, production, or the general organization of a company in the area.

3 TRAINING ALLOWANCES

A - Job contributions

Companies bringing new activities that require the training of an entire group of employees may obtain a cash grant up to CHF 10,000 for each new job created.

B - Technical Training Allowances (for local workers)

This allowance is designed to encourage the recruitment of local workers by partially financing the salary of employees who need to improve their job skills.

Qualified employees are those who need specific training to adapt their skills to a new position. This applies to Swiss employees as well as to those who already possess a B or C work permit. Expatriates recruited by the company are not eligible.

C - Unemployment Insurance Allowance Law

This allowance encourages companies to hire the unemployed, who have difficulty reintegrating into the work force.

The allowance applies only to those people who are registered in a job-seeking position under a Swiss jurisdiction.

4 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANTS
The Confederation supports applied research and development projects through special funds. Companies can benefit from the federal aid by executing the project through co-operation with a Swiss University or independent research Institute. The support may reach up to 50% of the project cost. The federal money is destined to cover the cost of the university or of the institute. As a result the company has not to pay for the contribution of the universities or the institutes to the project.

In Switzerland, different types of work and residency permits exist. They are described below (appendix 8).
We will assist in obtaining work and residency permits for all managers, specialists and foreign owners who are essential to the success of the project and not otherwise available in the Swiss job market, thus enabling them to live and work with their families in Switzerland.

Basically, there is now a difference between EU/EFTA members and third countries.
The allotment to EU/EFTA members has been widely enlarged in a Federal quota.

The State Quota
The Federal government annually determines how many work permits each state receives. Permits are divided into three distinct categories: establishment permit, short time and border.