Colossal tax bill at Patrick Drahi's heels in Switzerland

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According to information from Heidi.news, Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi is facing the threat of a colossal tax bill in Switzerland amounting to nearly 7.5 billion euros, or 7.4 billion Swiss francs.

According to the Swiss news site, the media mogul, who owns SFR and BFM-TV, received a proposal for tax rectification on June 30, 2021, from the tax office of the canton of Geneva, totaling $3.7 billion in tax arrears, to which an equal amount in penalties would be added.

Patrick Drahi's entourage refuted the information, but Heidi.news had access to records proving that his attorneys had appealed the tax adjustment before an administrative court.

The newsletter has previously revealed several details of the dispute, which has pitted Patrick Drahi against the Swiss tax authorities for several years.

The billionaire is believed by the Geneva tax authorities to have maintained a false residence in the canton of Valais, where he enjoys a highly advantageous tax structure, despite spending most of the year close to Geneva.

Therefore, he claims the taxes he would have paid from 2009 to 2016 in the event of a Geneva tax domicile, constituting a “maximalist estimate” that could certainly be reduced in the event of an amicable settlement.

For its investigations, Heidi.news relied on a series of internal documents from Patrick Drahi’s holding company, posted online this summer by a criminal group following a hack and a ransom demand.

The World was able to detail Patrick Drahi's aggressive tax planning strategies for his collection of artwork thanks to the same records.