A tense match between Brazil and Switzerland yesterday evening resulted in a 1:1 draw. This was quite a feat for Switzerland, considering Brazil was one of three widely agreed favorites going into the match – France and Germany were the other two. This was the first time since 1978 that Brazil failed to win its […]
Swiss offshore wealth management sector still world’s largest by far
A report by The Boston Consulting Group highlights the size of Switzerland’s personal offshore wealth management sector. Total personal offshore wealth grew by 6% to reach US$8.2 trillion in 2017. US$2.3 trillion (28%) of this was managed in Switzerland. The top three offshore centres: Switzerland ($2.3 trillion), Hong Kong ($1.1 trillion) and Singapore ($0.9 trillion) […]
Swiss parliament rejects initiative calling for primacy of Swiss law
On 12 June 2018, an initiative calling for a constitutional amendment, which would place Swiss law above international law, was rejected by the National Council by 127 to 67 votes, after a lengthy nine hour discussion spanning three days. Earlier, the initiative dubbed: Swiss law instead of foreign judges, organized by the Swiss People’s Party […]
Switzerland’s parliament narrowly votes for women’s quotas on company boards
Yesterday, Switzerland’s National Council, or parliament, voted 95 to 94, with 3 abstentions, to introduce quotas for the management and boards of quoted companies. Boards will be required to have 30% women and management teams 20%. The rules could affect 250 companies. At the same time the quotas will not come with sanctions. Companies would […]
FILM: POPE FRANCIS – A MAN OF HIS WORD ****
15 June 2018. This is a fine week for films – take your pick from this exceptional selection: POPE FRANCIS – A MAN OF HIS WORD **** To start off, there is Wim Wenders’ superb documentary on the Pope. A man of the people who cares for and identifies with the poor. That’s why he […]
Switzerland’s PostBus scandal – entire management team suspended
PostBus, the nation’s postal bus service, receives government aid based on its financial performance. With around 2,200 bright yellow buses operating on around 900 routes, it forms an important part of Switzerland’s transport network and employs around 4,000 people. However, not long after the private PostBus company was created in 2006, it started manipulating its […]
Vaud plans tax cuts
Last week, Vaud’s government announced a plan for future tax cuts. The residents of Vaud are among the highest taxed in Switzerland. In 2016, a single person in Lausanne earning CHF 100,000 paid CHF 16,050 in cantonal and communal tax on top of CHF 1,840 of federal tax. This was the fourth highest across all […]
