Marton R, Jun 18, 2009 @ 09:04

Hi, I was in a similar situation and I found the whole idea of importing a car from Germany to be so absurd. You have to get the official value of the car, then it has to go to the customs, you have to pay, fill out papers.... My situation was: I had lived in Munich and had a good, sustainable family car, so when my daughter was born the best idea seemed to be to bring it to GE. My wife at the time had an Opel Corsa. Relocating my car was simply not worth the trouble. OK.... I don't know what financial dimensions you are talking about... How long will you be staying in GE, where will you be living?

But...

Let me be blunt: Geneva is a very big parking lot with overly aggressive drivers who are all in a hurry to get nowhere. 90% of the vehicles there are unsuited to the tortuous city layout (SUVs, sports cars). Remember, Geneva is trying to discourage the use of cars, so they make it difficult for everyone except the super-rich and diplomats who are not to be bothered in their playground... (if you are among this class, then I humbly beg forgiveness)

The local police doesn't want to tarnish Geneva's reputation by really addressing serious problems of crime, but they have a very zealous batallion of men and women in gray suits, who spend their days writing out tickets.* There are no parking spaces to speak of, it was the only place in the world so far my car was broken into and vandalized (I kid you not). All the while, it has fairly good public transport. If your wife really needs a run-around car, get something local and adapted to very real needs.

* In GE you need a parking sticker. The city sells them in limited quantities. Apparently, they sell about 30% more than there are parking spaces... The latter are also taken up by thousands of "frontaliers" coming from France, who would not step into a commuter train if paid to do so... La voiture has Freudian connotations... Cars were one of the reason I finally left Geneva.

PS: But they will not touch certain cars. I have actually seen this happen: The big shiny SUV parked on the sidewalk in front of an emergency exit (owner in a chic bar drinking) is bypassed, the supercompact thingie with a baby seat in it in a "blue" spot visibly being packed: CHF 120...
Marton R, Jun 18, 2009 @ 09:30

1) you can do as you wish, the paperwork is now quite straightforward. You recover the German VAT upon export, pay an import duty tax and have the car certified in Switzerland by the local motor vehicles admin. The hassle depends how well you cope with paperwork & lunatic bureaucracy :D



2) if company regulation says that you cannot use the car for private purpose, there is no benefit in kind. Otherwise it's 0,8% of the purchase value of the car, each month. Be wise, it can be a serious amount. The trick is to ask the company to reimburse you this... in my case it is refunded as representation cost
swisskiss, Jun 18, 2009 @ 09:43

Thanks guys, just to be clear are you taxed on the 0.8% per month at your tax rate or do you have to pay the full 0.8% a month?
rclifford, Jun 19, 2009 @ 13:48

it's 0,8% per month. If your car is 80'000, that's 640 per month... :w00t:



Curious your company HR cannot provide you with this info, it's their job lol
swisskiss, Jun 19, 2009 @ 14:30