Colonel Sanders Takes Aim at Swiss Market; Snow Inspires Would-Be Landlord; Clamp Down Sought on Gamblers; Agreement Reached on EuroAirport Tax Scheme

News For 26 January 2016

The American fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken, or, KFC announced plans on Monday to open at least six outlets in Switzerland - including a store in Basel.  Marco Schepers, a KFC representative in Germany told the daily Blick newspaper of the company's plans, and elaborated that the chain is already negotiating with suppliers and franchise partners.  The Swiss expansion will target all the major cities, including Zurich, Bern, Lucerne, Geneva, Lausanne and of course Basel.  This is not the first foray for the American chain into Switzerland, having had two stores in French speaking Switzerland in 2004 which were closed after a short time.  Since then, it appears the appetite for chicken in Switzerland has increased.  In the last ten years the per capita consumption has risen from 9 to 12 kilos, and the company is hoping to capitalize on this growth in appetite.  Swiss companies have also taken note -  Migros has its own plans to increase the number of restaurants specializing in chicken five-fold.

The news over the weekend was focused on the massive snowstorm that blanketed the east coast of the United States.  Dubbed Snow-Zilla or Snow-Pocalypse the storm hit suburban and metropolitan areas alike dropping over 2 meters of snow in some places.  One enterprising resident of New York city was undaunted by the inclement weather and used the circumstances to address another problem facing New Yorkers: the lack of affordable housing.  By constructing an igloo in his backyard, the Brooklyn homeowner went on to list the makeshift residence on the Air BNB app for 230 dollars per night.  The listing described the amenities as featuring handmade craftsmanship and being an eco-friendly getaway in the city; It featured lighting, waterproof pillows and faux fur throws to line the floor.  Ultimately, the listing was removed by AirBnB without further details as to why.

Authorities and Casino operators in Basel are struggling to control banned players from gambling outside Switzerland.  While Switzerland has strict rules that require casinos to ban gamblers that have been identified as addicts, no such rules exist in casinos over the borders in France and Germany.  Also complicating matters is that Switzerland invests significant social support and services in helping gambling addicts to maintain their abstinence.  Casinos are typically notified by courts or social-services authorities that a would-be player should be banned, or a person can request a casino ban them if they fear for their financial well being.  While this system has been effective for some time, Casinos are now reporting that they are seeing up to 90% of their 6000+ banned players turning up in over-the-borders casinos.  Authorities hope to reach a region-wide agreement soon with regulators to share lists of banned players and enhance enforcement.

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French and Swiss Tax authorities have finally settled a long-running dispute regarding the levy of taxes on enterprises at the EuroAirport.  At the heart of the dispute was whether companies operating inside the Swiss sector of the airport will have to pay Local Municipal Taxes in addition to the French Corporate and Swiss Value added taxes they already pay.  More than 60 companies operate inside the Swiss sector of the Airport that is physically located inside the borders of France and over 6000 employees work at the facility - 4500 of which work exclusively in the Swiss Sector.  Hailed as a breakthrough by the Basel Chamber of Commerce, the agreement will preserve the status-quo, which means France will compromise and not require Local Taxes to be paid by the firms already operating in the airport.  A communiqué issued on Saturday by the Chamber gushed "The binational Esprit at the Euro Airport is now experiencing a renaissance".