London’s Low Taxes Lure Foreign Companies as Banks Retrench

London's corporate tax rate will soon be half the U.S. rate

The Swiss town of Baar boasts clean air, easy access to ski slopes and some of Europe’s lowest personal taxes. London? Traffic and perpetual drizzle

Yet executives at Noble Corp. (NE), a provider of deepwater oil drilling rigs, are in the process of moving headquarters from Baar to the British capital, citing the talented workforce and easy airline connections from Heathrow, Europe’s busiest international airport. On top of that, the U.K. tax rate is now competitive with Switzerland’s historically corporate-friendly tax regime.

Noble is part of a wave of overseas companies moving head offices to London, lured in part by the country’s declining corporate taxes. The relocations underscore Prime Minister David Cameron’s efforts to make the country more attractive to foreign companies -- and may help London become less dependent on the financial services industry, which has been retrenching since the 2008 crisis.

READ MORE:  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-10-17/london-luring-foreign-companies-with-low-taxes-as-banks-retrench.html