When they decided to make Zurich the Google tech-hub in Europe I can assure you that taxes were not the main driver. One of the big guys at Google at that time

When they decided to make Zurich the Google tech-hub in Europe I can assure you that taxes were not the main driver. One of the big guys at Google at that time studied at ETH and therefore knew the place is full of talent. Also, the Zurich is more or less in the geographic center of Europe. So is Munich, Germany, but would a French or Italian programming prodigy move to Germany? Maybe, but maybe not. The probability of different people to move to (neutral) Switzerland is higher so it is a natural place to attract talent from all over Europe.