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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallBasel-Stadt’s cantonal tax administration printed the wrong web address on information flyers sent to more than 100,000 recipients. The address left out “.ch,” turning a Swiss government URL into a Bahamas country-code domain. Rather than reprint and mail the flyers, the canton chose to register the mistaken address for about CHF 900; replacing the materials was estimated to cost more than CHF 100,000.
What was the URL error?
The flyer was meant to direct taxpayers to Basel-Stadt’s online tax service. It printed www.eSteuern.BS/private instead of www.esteuern.bs.ch/private. The missing piece was “.ch”: one dot and two letters, according to SRF’s report of January 29, 2025.
| Address | Meaning |
|---|---|
www.eSteuern.BS/private |
Address printed on the flyer; its ending is .bs. |
www.esteuern.bs.ch/private |
Intended Swiss address for Basel-Stadt’s tax portal. |
Capitalization is not the important difference here. The missing “.ch” changed the domain ending. Basel-Stadt is commonly abbreviated BS, but .bs is the country-code top-level domain for the Bahamas; .ch is Switzerland’s. The error did not mean Basel had chosen a Bahamian tax platform: it made the printed address point to a different domain namespace.
Why did Basel buy the mistaken domain?
The Finance Department estimated that printing and mailing replacement flyers would cost more than CHF 100,000. Registering the mistaken address was reported to cost about CHF 900. On those estimates, the domain route cost less than one-hundredth as much and implied a nominal saving of more than CHF 99,100. That saving is an arithmetic comparison of the reported estimates, not a separately published official calculation.
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The administration chose the registration and redirect as the cheaper alternative to reproducing and redistributing the materials. “Forced to buy” is headline shorthand: the reported account describes a choice between remedies, not a legal requirement to acquire the domain.
Was taxpayer information sent to the Bahamas?
Basel’s Finance Department spokesperson said sensitive tax data would not be transmitted through a Bahamian server. The planned use of the mistaken domain was as a redirect to the correct Swiss portal, https://esteuern.bs.ch/private. A domain redirect is distinct from hosting or processing tax-return information at the redirect domain.
That statement describes the administration’s intended arrangement; it is not an independent technical audit. The January 29 report said registration was still in progress and the redirect was not yet live. It did not document the eventual DNS or hosting setup, HTTPS configuration, logging, or whether the redirect later went into operation. The available reporting therefore does not establish that the typo domain is currently controlled by Basel-Stadt or that it still redirects.
Why was the flyer important?
The mailing accompanied a change in Basel-Stadt’s online public-service login process. Since mid-2024, residents had been expected to use the federal AGOV login for online services, including tax filing. SRF reported that the 2024 tax return would become available online the following week. The flyer was intended to guide taxpayers through that digital process, not simply advertise a website.
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What is known—and what is not—about the mistake?
Basel-Stadt’s explanation was that the web address was transferred incorrectly from the canton’s website to the flyer. The report does not identify who made the error or describe the flyer’s proofing process. It also does not establish whether every printed copy had the mistake, whether a separate correction was sent, or what process changes followed. Those details should not be inferred from the fact that the canton pursued a redirect.
As of SRF’s January 29, 2025 report, the registration process was still under way and involved Bahamian authorities. The report did not name the registry, give the registration term or renewal plan, or confirm a later operational status. The correct Basel-Stadt portal is available at esteuern.bs.ch/private, but that alone does not verify what happens at the erroneous address.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the incident means for printed URLs
A printed web address can remain in circulation long after a mailing goes out. If an organization uses a typo domain to correct an error, that domain becomes a security-sensitive asset: it needs controlled administration, a reliable redirect to the canonical HTTPS site, and renewal and monitoring while printed copies may still be used. The reporting establishes Basel-Stadt’s intended redirect, but not whether those technical and long-term safeguards were implemented.
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