Some wealthy people discover savings potential in taxes. So obviously Fifa President Gianni Infantino. Unnoticed by the public, Infantino has moved his residence from Küsnacht in the canton of Zurich to the low-tax Zug, reports the Swiss “Sonntagszeitung”. The newspaper would have documents showing that the president of world football’s governing body transferred his papers in June this year.
His new domicile is accordingly “an anonymous gray block of flats in a quiet block of flats with a view of Lake Zug”. Fifa confirmed the new place of residence on request without commenting further, the “Sonntagszeitung” continues.
From Lake Zurich to Lake Zug – both beautiful, both rich, both embedded in a wonderful panorama. And both areas are tax-favourable, at least from a German perspective. Nevertheless, financially it makes a not inconsiderable difference whether you live in Küsnacht or in Zug.
In Switzerland, there is tax competition between the cantons and also between the individual municipalities. If you base your residence on the tax rate, you will soon be eyeing Zug. The canton in central Switzerland is one of the cheapest cantons of all – and that in all income brackets. So also in that of the Fifa President.
According to research by the “Tages-Anzeiger”, Infantino recently received an estimated remuneration of four million francs, i.e. four million euros. In Zug he is in good company. As the “Sonntagsblick” reported in spring 2021, more than every eighth Zuger is a millionaire.
According to the “Sonntagszeitung”, if the details of Fifa boss Infantino’s remuneration are correct, the canton of Zug can look forward to 228,000 francs in additional tax revenue. The community will receive another CHF 153,000. Infantino comes off much better on Lake Zug than on Lake Zurich. The newspaper writes that he saves around half of the tax amount that he would have had to pay in Küsnacht by moving.
In the course of this research, the Swiss media point out that Infantino’s place of residence is not an issue for the first time. Earlier this year it was reported that the Fifa boss had moved to Qatar – the country of the 2022 World Cup. Infantino denied: “My home is Zurich, I pay my taxes in Zurich,” he told “CH Media” in the spring. It is true that he is often on site in the year the World Cup is held. He has a second home there, and some of his family is also in Qatar. “I think staging a World Cup has to be a top priority, and you can’t just do it remotely,” Infantino continued at the time.
And so the Fifa boss, who has Swiss and Italian citizenship, has a good overview of what’s happening in Qatar these weeks. For example, that players wanted to compete with a “One Love” armband out of criticism of human rights violations in Qatar. The association then promptly announced sanctions for wearing these armbands (stern reported).
With Infantino, Lake Zurich has lost a prominent resident, but there are still a few more. Read here how illustrious the neighborhood is.
Sources: Tagesanzeiger, Handelszeitung, Blick, watson
