Swiss Ratchet Up Tax Breaks as Europe Fights Deficits

Schaffhausen, the northernmost part of Switzerland, used tax breaks to lure Tyco Electronics Ltd. from Bermuda to a new base on the River Rhine as Swiss cantons offer a tonic to European austerity.

The agreement gives the world’s biggest maker of electronic connectors, whose top managers sit in Pennsylvania, a discount on the canton’s 16 percent corporate tax rate for 10 years, said Schaffhausen Executive Vice President of International Affairs Marcus Cajacob. The exact terms are confidential, he said.