Canton Berne--a capital idea: several years in a row, an international ranking of cities has placed Berne among the world's top ten for good living. Here, the canton of Berne tells us why living and working in the region is such a capital idea.

What makes the canton of Berne such an attractive place to live and work--and why have over 100 multinational companies such as eBay, PepsiCo, and UPS Supply Chain Solutions chosen to base their European or global headquarters here?

For millennia the inhabitants of Berne have capitalised on their central European location. From trade to diplomacy, culture to politics, Berne is ideally situated for networking with the rest of the continent. International train service puts most major European cities within easy reach.

From the Berne-Belp international airport, there are direct flights to numerous European cities. Thanks to good motorway and rail connections, the continental airports of Basel, Geneva and Zurich are about an hour and a half away, while most major European cities are within easy reach.

Historical significance

The region of Berne was occupied in prehistoric times, and was later settled by the Celts, the Romans and Germanic tribes.

The present-day canton of Berne originated as the Bernese Republic, an extension of the city of Berne, founded in 1191 by the German nobleman Duke Berchtold von Zahringen, who also commissioned the construction of Burgdorf, Thun, Murten, Fribourg and Rheinfelden. Berne eventually became the largest citystate north of the Alps and by 1556 stretched from Lake Geneva (Lac Leman) to the Aargau River.

Since those early days, Berne has attracted historical figures and celebrities alike, from Emperor Louis Napoleon III and physicist Albert Einstein to writer Hermann Hess and modern artist Paul Klee. Napoleon received military training in Thun before going on to conquer Europe.

Einstein worked as a technical expert in the patent office in Berne. It was during this time that he published his theory of relativity. A permanent exhibition of his life and work can be seen at the Historical Museum.

Hesse spent the World War I years in Berne when the city was already known as a hub of politically progressive ideas, hosting the anarchists Kropotkin and Bakunin. And Klee was recently honouted with a museum designed by star architect Renzo Piano.

Favourable business climate

For individuals and companies who are drawn to settle here today, Canton Berne has favourable corporate taxation policies offering special tax models and tax holidays.

When compared with other Swiss cities (Zurich 105.7 and Geneva 126.0), the combined profit and capital tax indices of Canton Berne (91.5) are well below the national average (100.0).

Effective total cantonal and municipal income taxation of domiciliary companies is as low as 10.74 per cent. Compared with the rest of Europe, maximum and average tax applied to corporate income in Canton Berne (14.86 per cent) is second only to Ireland (12.5 per cent) and well below the Swiss average (24.1 per cent).

Non-resident employees of a non-resident enterprise without permanent establishment in Switzerland working here for less than 185 days per year may be exempt from Swiss taxes. Managers and certain specialists may qualify for specific additional deductions.

Companies benefit from the accumulated know-how in key sectors such as precision tooling, IT and telecommunications, pharmaceutical and medical technologies, services, environmental and energy technologies as well as design and manufacturing. There is an ample supply of job opportunities for expatriates in these sectors.

While the overall cost of living in Switzerland may be considered high, the average cost of renting or purchasing an apartment, house, office or industrial space in Canton Berne is 10-20 per cent lower than other locations in the country with a similar quality of life. For example, the average monthly rent for a four-room apartment is SFr 1,130 while rent for a six-room house averages SFr 1,750. Average purchase prices for the same items are SFr 380,000 and 625,000 respectively.

Relocating to or starting up in the canton is facilitated by the Berne Economic Development Agency (BEDA) which can help find the right premises and highly-qualified, multilingual staff, provide information on legal and financial matters, and submit applications for foreign employees among other services.

City of Berne--capital impressions

With a high quality of life and low crime rate, Berne routinely ranks in the top ten of Mercer's Worldwide Quality of Life Survey--9th this year--and is included in UNESCO's World Cultural Heritage List.

The city is the seat of Swiss government and hosts all the embassies giving it a very international flavour. In fact, more than 20 per cent of the population is made up of foreigners. Internationally accredited schools, associations, clubs, foreign-language church services, and much more make life easier for expats in Berne.

A popular portal providing information on expat life in the area is the English-language website www.living-inberne.ch.

It is possible to ski the Bernese Alps in the morning (the Jungfrau Region, for example, is a UNESCO Natural Heritage site) and spend the afternoon sailing one of the pristine lakes in the Bernese Oberland or Biel-Seeland. World-famous holiday destinations such as Grindelwald, Interlaken and celebrity-magnet Gstaad are also in the canton.

In addition to being blessed with an abundance of natural beauty, Berne also has a wide variety of cultural and leisure activities, see sidebar.

It all adds up to the canton of Berne being more than just an inviting holiday destination, it is a unique, ideal location for businesses that want to grow and prosper as well as individuals seeking a safe, high-quality life.

Music festivals

Now-May 20:

32nd International Jazz Festival in Berne

www.jazzfestivalbern.ch

July 19-22:

24th Gurten Festival in Berne

www.gurtenfestival.ch

June 29-July1:

14th Trucker & Country Festival in Interlaken

www.trucker-festival.ch

July 20-September 8:

51st Menuhin Festival in Gstaad

www.menuhinfestivalgstaad.ch

September 21-23:

19th Country Nights in Gstaad

www.countrynight-gstaad.ch

Theatre/dance

May 3-12:

UPSTAGE English-language theatre in Berne

www.upstage.ch

June 6-23:

Dance Days in Berne

www.tanztage.ch

Sports

May 12:

26th Grand Prix Marathon in Berne

www.gpbern.ch

June-July 2008:

UEFA's Football Championship Euro2008

www.euro2008.com

For more information please visit:

www.berneinvest.com

www.living-in-berne.ch