FEDERER FINALLY IN TAX PARADISE?

Oberwil, Canton Basel-Land and Wollerau, Canton Schwyz

"Tennis champion "Roger Federer" is leaving Basel-Land: He will move into a rented apartment. However, he doesn't want to pay his taxes on the Lake of Zurich, but still in Oberwil Basel-Land, at least for now."

The above lead was read in "Basler Zeitung" on it's May 4, 2007, issue. Yes, it IS an issue in Switzerland where "The World Sportsman" of the years 2005, 2006 AND 2007 and PR icon for Swiss Dairy Food products Emmi and Swiss Coffee giant Nespresso
should pay his taxes.

Roger Federer indead wants to move out - and since Wednesday, the whole of Switzerland knows it. "Tele Zueri" had the workmen in front of the camera, "Radio Central" had a group of regulars in front of their microphone and what about the BaZ newspaper? They had the parents on the phone. Although Lynette and Robert Federer don't want to comment on any of the rumours, they are very open, inofficially. "Roggie takes a rented appartment. But he stays registered in Oberwil", says the father and bids a firm yet polite good bye.

According to BaZ, this is not the first time that stories about moving plans of Roger are traded in the Swiss media. He presented his interest in a lot in Grandvaux, Canton Vaud, in the midst of Lavaux vignards high above Lake Geneva, with a view to the French and Swiss Alps.

WITH SAUNA. Well, Roger Federer will have to do without the alps in Wollerau but will instead enjoy a lake. As pictures as published by "Basler Zeitung" suggest, the tennis star will enjoy a beautiful lake view from his rented terrace house apartment on the forth floor in the village of Bäch (Wollerau town), "Canton Schwyz". The local newspaper "Südostschweiz" gossipped about the "very generously equipped apartment" with a sauna. But WHEN the very talkative workmen will have finished the interior construction remains a secret for now.

But this is also not the point. "Wollerau" and the neighboring "Freienbach" are two of the most tax friendly towns in Switzerland. This fact is being taken advantage of by UBS top banker "Marcel Ospel", CS top banker "Oswald Grübel", the tennis players "Martina Hinggis" and "Patty Schnyder" and even the Formula-1 pilote "Kimi Räikkönen" and "Felipe Massa" to file his tax return sheet in Oberwil, that costs him around 4,2 Millions Swiss Francs (almost 4 Million Dollars) of taxes a year according to boulevard tabloid "Blick".

Now the Baz newspaper rambles in "Swissness style" about talks of Mayors regarding the tax laws and potentials. I'll spare you all of it, well except for one interesting detail, as Rudolf Mohler, mayor of Oberwil puts it: "Our municipal finances will not be a disaster in case Roger Federer moves out for good. We ve'got more quiet co-citizens who pay more!"