Wealthy homeowners listened even more intently than usual to the Budget this week, braced for yet more painful measures to limit the attractiveness of tax havens. Alistair Darling, mindful of the bill imposed on taxpayers for the bank bailouts, promised further initiatives to limit tax evasion — which costs Britain anything from £1.5 billion a year to £18 billion, depending on which estimates you believe. This measure follows the agreement to clamp down on tax havens outlined at the G20 summit in London earlier this month.

However, Mr Darling’s announcement that from next April anyone earning more than £150,000 a year will pay 50 per cent in income tax will make some foreign tax schemes look increasingly favourable. David Adams, of Chesterton Humberts, says: “This will speed the exodus of financial professionals to Geneva and Zurich, which have laid out the welcome mat. The French-speaking cantons in Switzerland are seeing unprecedented numbers of British buyers and are one of the few places in Europe where house prices have held.”

Switzerland does not like to be described as a tax haven. But its fiscal benefits are well-known, luring figures such as Lewis Hamilton, Tina Turner and David Bowie, as well as scores of rich people who are not household names; some 21 per cent of the country’s population is non-Swiss.

Since the G20 summit, the country has finally adopted the tax-sharing principles set out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). These principles will commit Switzerland to disclosing more data about who has money stashed in its banks. Switzerland was on an OECD blacklist; it is now on the grey list of countries committed to better disclosure standards but not yet complying with them.

There are now concerns that the new openness will diminish the country’s appeal as a place to settle, despite other such advantages as low mortgage rates, safety, stupendous scenery, skiing and good transport.

Susan Ellis, financial services senior analyst at Datamonitor, says: “Every time a country agrees to exchange tax information on request — or is forced to — the benefits from investing in these havens decline.” Others are not so sure. Keith Baker, a solicitor of Croft Baker who specialises in overseas second-home ownership, says: “The increased transparency is definitely going to have a mega effect on people’s decisions on where they put money but I’m not convinced that this will influence property ownership and its benefits for British buyers in Switzerland.” Simon Malster, of Investors in Property, is clear: “My clients are looking to relocate to Switzerland for the quality of life.”

For the time being, Switzerland retains its allure both for those looking to settle and to buy second homes. Savills’ Geneva office forecasts that the demand for property from non-Swiss will be such that 32 per cent more private housing will need to be provided in the Valais Canton. This may have something to do with the stability of prices in the country. Arnaud Santschy, of Aylesford International, has actually experienced an increase in inquiries from European buyers since the G20 summit. He says: “For the moment it seems that being on a grey list is not stopping the demand for Swiss homes. The price of luxury real estate in Switzerland is still stable and it is good for buyers because owners are being more open to price negotiations now. And as the mortgage interest rates are still very low, it’s still a good time to buy in Switzerland.”

Savills is marketing a development of four chalets in Grindlewald, across the valley from the north face of the Eiger, with prices starting at SwFr 3.25 million (£1.95 million). Details: 020-7016 3740, alpinehomesintl.com. Luxury chalets such as this are in limited supply and are in high demand.

How the tax system works

Switzerland’s most prized — and most controversial — tax break is the lump-sum concession, which is available only to those who do not work in the country. Under this scheme, an individual pays tax based on his annual living costs rather than his income. The living costs figure is based on five times that person's predicted or actual rental income. The figure is then taxed at 40 per cent.

Those who do not qualify for this concession face three types of tax: income, wealth and property. The income tax is calculated on all earned income, plus a percentage (60 per cent on average) of notional rental income based on the value of a person’s property. The wealth tax, the oldest tax in Switzerland, depends on each canton but can be up to one per cent of your net assets. The property tax is 0.001 per cent of the property’s value.

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