Swiss tax authority screws up printing fliers, has to buy the domain name for the Bahamas!

[thewayne]

This is pretty amazing! And a bit costly.

The tax authority of the canton ('state') of Basil-Stadt didn't do a good job of proff-reding a new flyer before committing to the print run. Instead of the URL ending in .bs.ch, the .ch being Switzerland's ccTLD (country code top-level domain), the .ch was left off. .bs is the national code of the Bahamas!

It would cost approx $100,000 to reprint and remail the fliers.

The cost to buy the .bs domain from the Bahamas and administer it? About $1,000.

So the Bahamas ccTLD is now administered by a Swiss canton's tax authority!

https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/31/swiss-tax-authority-forced-to-buy-bahamas-domain-name-after-url-typo/

https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/01/31/2237225/swiss-tax-authority-forced-to-buy-bahamas-domain-name-after-url-typo


If you'd like to see the original flyer with typo, it's viewable here:
https://www.srf.ch/news/schweiz/fehler-mit-folgen-basler-steuerverwaltung-muss-domain-auf-den-bahamas-kaufen

Comments

[darkoshi]

It sounds like they didn't buy the whole ccTLD (if that is even possible), but rather only the misprinted domain ending with .bs.
The website still isn't working yet though and whois doesn't find it.

[thewayne]

Can't say as I'm surprised.  I would imagine that it's a bit of an enterprise to do such a transfer and manage it.

[disneydream06]

WOW, talk about mark up. LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hugs, Jon

[silveradept]

And I'm sure the Bahamas would appreciate the money as well, from the typo. Although, I think both Bahamas and Switzerland are known for being places to put money where you might not want other eyes looking at it and where it came from...

[kaishin108]

That is pretty crazy, LOL!!!!