Moreover, while Garmin is viewed by most as an upstanding company, moving out of the Caymans and into Switzerland should nevertheless help Garmin’s reputation and credibility, Brown said. The Caribbean country, like many of its neighbors, is a known haven for companies with a history of tax violations, Brown said.

Shahzad Malik, an international tax attorney at TroyGould PC in Los Angeles, said that he works with many U.S. multinational companies currently incorporated in the Cayman Islands that are now considering moving to another country because of the negative public perception and the risk of adverse legislation.

“If you’re going to move to another place, Switzerland is a classic jurisdiction—they’ve got a well-developed legal and tax-treaty network, and they have a pretty low rate of corporate tax,” Malik said. “In some circumstances, tax holidays are available.”

Switzerland may be viewed as less of a tax haven than before, particularly after the UBS AG case last year, the observers said. U.S. officials agreed to stop demanding details of 50,000 of UBS AG’s American clients if Switzerland officials disclosed the names of 4,450 U.S. citizens allegedly involved in tax evasion or fraud. Separately, UBS paid $780 million in penalties and disclosed an additional 150 names.

“As for the secrecy laws in Switzerland, the UBS case reminds those using the secrecy laws in the country that, on a case-by-case basis, they may be set aside,” Brown said. “It is rare and, I suspect, not something that will significantly erode Switzerland as a place to go if you want to keep your holdings secret.”

While the move to Switzerland has tax and political advantages, Garmin also stands to benefit by moving closer to its European operations. In addition to facilitating acquisitions and partnerships with other European countries, the move to Switzerland could enable the company to take advantage of favorable corporate and customs laws for its subsidiaries in the European Union.

Calls to Garmin were not returned.

In its press release Tuesday, Garmin said that its shareholders will need to approve the reincorporation at the annual meeting on May 20. The change also will be subject to approval of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands. If granted, the company would be retain the name Garmin Ltd., and each shareholder would receive one share of the Swiss company for each share held of the Cayman Islands company. Garmin’s shares would continue to be listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol GRMN.

Barron’s said that Garmin’s “earnings projections are rising and disciplined value-fund managers are discovering the name.” The company’s stock has suffered after weakened earnings the past two seasons, but Christopher Pavese, chief investment officer of Broyhill Asset Management, said in the Barron’s report that the stock, which is now trading at $36, could rise to $50.