There is a fairly large, prominent computer shop on the corner of Klybeckstrasse and Feldbergstrasse that has been there for decades and yet I’ve never seen any signs of life in the 10 years I lived in the area. I was actually there on Monday afternoon (one of the few days they claim to open) and still nada.
The display front has sun-bleached copies of obsolete software and toner cartridges and a website that looks like it was designed in the 90s, albeit with some minor updates that place it in this decade (e.g. COVID masking).
I did some googling and as far back as 2012 a TagesWoche article describes it as one of many ‘dead shops’ in the area with a window full of ‘yellowed Windows 98 boxes’.
I assumed these were just money laundering operations, but maybe I’m too cynical. I did go into one of these shops to buy a 2nd hand laptop but can’t remember where exactly in Klein Basel that was.
It would be interesting to find any reports on the turnover and any reports on the entire old building ownership but I am not that knowledgeable nor curious =)
One of the great mysteries of Switzerland. Zurich has less of them now, but off the main streets there are still plenty of “ghost shops”. Rarely if ever open. Little stock (furniture, works of art, second-hand 50s furniture, computers etc). When prices are shown they are outrageous.
I can only imagine the shop owner owns the building and the store is a sort of hobby, but they lost interest. Or they are money laundering…
I’m hoping its some sort of ironic protest at the breakneck pace of technology (and now AI). The owner believing that computing peaked at Windows 98 and should have stayed there.
Most high-end fashion shops are ghost shops in my opinion…
And there is no shortage of these in ZH. I guess they’re counterbalanced by their e-commerce.
It was mentioned on EF.
It’s tax fraud.
The building owners normally own the business and offset any tax obligations/claim tax relief for the entire building on that business.
No, my question was if there are some tricks that accountants are very privy to…otherwise tax fraud crimes would be much less common 'cause nobody would risk their professional credentials and signature rights to cover up some knobs.
I read the article and I don’t understand exactly what happens. They say something about the building mortgage being obtained with the “business income” and not in the apartment rentals above the business. Then, something is mentioned about interest being paid on time (Zins) and everyone’s happy. And that’s it, my German comprehension ends there.
My speculation is that building owners got a mortgage where they only pay interest and will return the capital at the end of mortgage contract. The story for the bank several years ago was that the business will pay the credit, not apartment rentals. I guess the “dead shop” stays open because closing it would trigger a premature end of the mortgage and having to pay back the capital. In the real world, apartment rentals keep everything afloat and mortgage capital will be paid at it’s end. This speculation only makes sense if at some point it was easier to get a mortgage for a business than for apartment rentals. Is it the case?
