In some parts of Switzerland, welfare payments are sometimes considered more like bridging loans to help someone through a financially difficult period rather than a one-way payment. A recent case in the canton of Bern shows this system in action. According to 20 Minutes, a man who received welfare over 20 years was asked to […]
Switzerland’s new president in 2022
In Switzerland, the position of president is ceremonial. Switzerland’s executive is led jointly by all seven members of the Federal Council, known as les sept sages (the seven wise ones) in French-speaking Switzerland. From left to right: Guy Parmelin, Alain Berset (vice-president), Simonetta Sommaruga, Viola Amherd, Walter Thurnherr (Federal Chancellor), Ueli Maurer, Ignazio Cassis (president), Karin Keller-Sutter. […]
Tax burden set to rise in 10 Swiss cantons in 2022
The tax burden is set to rise in 10 Swiss cantons and fall in 16 in 2022, according to data published this week by the Federal Finance Administration (FFA). Nationally, the tax burden in 2022 will represent 24.6% of Switzerland’s tax potential, down from 24.8% in 2021. While the national tax burden percentage offers some […]
New laws that will help Swiss consumers in 2022
On 1 January 2022, new laws aimed at helping Swiss consumers will come into force. From 1 January 2022, foreign companies and brands will no longer be able to use geographic blocking to force consumers with Swiss IP addresses to shop on local Swiss web pages with different prices. Laws aimed at ending the practice […]
Switzerland gave a record 100 million to World Food Programme in 2021
Over the course of 2021, Switzerland gave CHF 100 million to the World Food Programme, reported RTS, the highest annual sum the country has ever given to the programme. A key driver of the size of the payment was a growing need for international food relief. Food shortages and malnutrition affected an estimated 800 million […]
Covid: vaccination plus recovery may provide super immunity, suggests research
A small unreviewed study in Austria suggests those who have been vaccinated and exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus may develop a hybrid super immunity. The Austrian study, which included around 100 participants, suggests that vaccination combined with recovery from infection, regardless of the order, may produce a hybrid immunity that can neutralise all forms of […]
Covid: Omicron now dominant in Switzerland
According to Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH), the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is now dominant in Switzerland. On 30 December 2021, the FOPH announced that 65% of Covid-19 cases were Omicron and only 35% were Delta. The latest variant was first detected in Switzerland on 19 November 2021 and rose from […]
Swiss government to support three hydro projects
On December 2021, the Swiss government allocated CHF 45.4 million to three hydro projects. Switzerland’s electricity production was once dominated by hydro. In 1970, 90% of the electricity produced in Switzerland was generated using hydro. The remainder came from nuclear (5%) and fossil fuels (5%). Roll forward to 2020 and hydro makes up only 58% […]
Women speak out in favour of raising retirement age for Swiss women
In Switzerland, the official state pension age is 65 for men and 64 for women. Government plans to make the retirement age 65 for both men and women have met with resistance from groups fighting against gender discrimination in Switzerland. The change would not affect women about to retire, and those born between 1960 and […]
Building construction costs rise sharply in Switzerland
As inflation rises around the world, Switzerland feels the heat too. This week the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) published data on construction, which show an unusually large jump in costs. The costs of construction leapt 2.7% between April and October 2021, according to the data, leaving prices 4.1% higher than a year earlier. The construction […]
