Last Sunday, Swiss voted to scrap one of the country’s most peculiar taxes: imputed rent, known as valeur locative or Eigenmietwert. Across the country 58% voted in favour of abolishing it. However, across French-speaking Switzerland, every canton voted against the plan. By contrast, in German-speaking cantons, with the exception of Basel-City, abolition won strong support. […]
Switzerland plans to slow more motorways to 80km/h
Switzerland plans to double the length of motorway sections where speed can be cut to 80km/h during heavy traffic, reported Blick. The Federal Roads Office (FEDRO) says almost 2,200km will eventually be equipped with electronic signs to lower limits temporarily, up from around 1,000km today. Officials argue that easing off the accelerator keeps traffic flowing. […]
Switzerland’s family-doctor shortage continues to worsen
Switzerland faces a worsening shortage of general practitioners, according to a workforce study published on 2 October 2025. By 2035 hundreds will need replacing. Already three-quarters of practising doctors report a shortfall in their region. The survey, conducted by the University of Basel among 1,776 medical practices, highlights five main problems, says the Swiss association […]
Health premiums and immigration top Swiss concerns in 2025
Health-insurance premiums and immigration remain the two biggest political concerns for Swiss voters, though both are less prevalent than last year, according to the latest SSR electoral barometer. Relations with the European Union, housing shortages and the economy have gained ground. Health costs top the list of challenges, cited by 40% of respondents. Immigration follows […]
Swiss voters back digital IDs and homeowner tax reform
On 28 September 2025, Switzerland voted on two contentious matters: a state-run electronic identity (e-ID) and a revamp of property taxation. Both were approved, though one only just. The e-ID Act scraped through with 50.4% in favour and 49.6% against – narrower than polls had suggested. And, only 7.5 out of 26 cantons were in […]
Swiss People’s Party registers vote to tighten asylum rules
Switzerland’s right-wing Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) has filed a new initiative “To protect borders”. The proposal, backed by 110,000 signatures, demands systematic checks at Swiss frontiers and tighter asylum rules, reported RTS. Anyone entering Switzerland would face controls. If such checks conflict with international treaties, the Federal Council would be required to renegotiate them—or, failing […]
Swiss health premiums to climb again in 2026
Swiss households will pay more for compulsory health insurance next year. Premiums are set to rise by an average of 4.4% in 2026, adding roughly 200 francs to annual bills. For children the increase is 4.9%; for young adults, 4.2%; and for everyone else, 4.1%. The burden varies widely by canton. Ticino will see the […]
Zurich to vote on penalising heavy cars and banning leaf blowers
Zurich City’s citizens will decide on 28 September 2025 whether to ban petrol-powered leaf blowers. A Left-Green coalition wants only quieter electric ones, and only in autumn – from October to December. The city council and a majority of the municipal council are on board. But opposition was sufficient to call a vote against the […]
Novartis responds to Trump’s 100% tariffs on drugs
Donald Trump has vowed to slap 100% tariffs on pharmaceutical imports to America from 1 October 2025. The measure, announced in a fleeting post on Truth Social, will apply to patented medicines, though generics appear exempt. Other imports will also be hit: kitchen and bathroom furniture (50%), upholstered furniture (30%) and heavy trucks (25%). The […]
The Federal Council wants to tax electric cars from 2030
Switzerland’s Federal Council intends to tax electric cars from 2030 to make up for shrinking fuel-tax revenues, reported SRF. Two models are on the table: a levy per kilometre driven or a surcharge on the electricity used to charge vehicles. Either would require a constitutional amendment, meaning approval from both voters and cantons. The logic […]
