I know this is totally wrong place to post a question like tihis but I didn´t know a better place to get some attention for a question like this

Me and a couple of buddies are going down to Austria to shoot the benchrest world championships this Aug. I have heard about a small village in Swiss named Samnaun that have some sort of taxfree deal. Is there anyone here that can tell me something about this place? I´m looking for a watch and mabye some optics when we drive home from Austria to Sweden again.

Yes, Samnaun does have some sort of a tax-free status. I know this status extends to tobacco, alcohol, gazoline and I would not be the least surprised if luxury articles also had some sort of a tax-break. It is a few years since I was in Samnaun last - nice skiing.

Lots of these tax-free deals should be viewed with a healthy dosis of respect - much like airport tax-free shopping. In many cases, a large part of the savings are eaten up by higher margins in the retail link. Besides, Switzerland has (for Europe) comparatively low consumption taxes (VAT etc) in any event.

Still it may well be worth pursuing, but I'd advise calling in advance to establish what prices are like for the exact items you are looking for, and then compare. Besides, if you decide to buy, it would be nice if the item was in stock when you arrived...

I'm sure information can be found via the phonebook. An online Swiss phonebook is http://tel.search.ch/. Otherwise let me know, and I'll see if I can help.

You can get to Samnaun either from the Swiss or from the Austrian side. Nice, mountainous drive.

- mike

Few days ago, I was in Livigno, a nice mountain small town in the extreme north of Italy, 4 Km off the Swiss border, 50 km south of Samnaun; they have a tax-free treatment as well. I saw several small shops that sell watches, cellular phones and top class european optics and rangefinders, like Swarowski, Zeiss and Leica.

Anyway, I'm a little sceptical about the bargains you can get; for instance, I asked the price of the Garmin Nuvi 350 Euro, a car navigator; the price was 279€, while the current best price on internet is 330€ and that makes a 15.5% reduction.

3-4 years ago, some friends bought over there for me a Sony digital camera and the difference in price compared to internet was even smaller, about 11-12%. Furthermore, as for Livigno, one has to face the real risk of a Customs inspection on the way out; it is allowed to own a couple of liters of alcoholics and 1-2 cartons of cigarettes or bottles of perfume without paying any tax.

But for costly goods if you declare them, you pay the VAT that is 19% +/-; if you don't declare the goods and the Customs officer (often overeager) inspects your car and find them, you pay the VAT plus a fine. Now you can decide if the game's worth the candle. Furthermore Italians must pay cash, otherwise, every payment with credit card will be taxed afterwards by the Customs.

Stefan,

I've used Samnaun's Tax-Free status when skiing.

Didn't look much at the store offerings as everyone has already mentioned the margins are only a savings if you manage to find a deal for the optics, perfume, etc. and personally, I wasn't in the market.

The Tobacco, Alcohol & Gasoline tax-free offerings are definately worth the price of a visit!