Switzerland is expensive. The prices of certain items, such as some meats and dairy products are kept especially high by a combination of trade tariffs and import restrictions. A lack of retail competition further adds to prices generally. For some, shopping across the border is the preferred way to avoid high Swiss prices. Around CHF […]
Commission alarmed by the state of Switzerland’s soil
Ultimately, the plants we eat are made up of energy from the sun and compounds and elements extracted from the soil. Meat, eggs and diary are the same, just one step removed. This means the availability and nutritional value of food is heavily dependent on healthy soil. A recently released commission report raises the alarm […]
Number of vacant homes in Switzerland drops for first time in 12 years
Finding a place to live in Switzerland is difficult. Home availability is low and prices are high. On 13 September 2021, the Federal Statistical Office published data showing a sharp drop in the number of vacant homes since 2020, a development that will make home hunting harder. On 1 June 2021, there were 71,365 vacant […]
Swiss to vote on higher taxes for investors and company owners
On 26 September 2021, Swiss voters will decide whether to introduce a tax increase on money earned from company ownership and investments. The initiative named ‘Reduce tax on salaries, tax capital fairly’ aims to have income derived from investments and company ownership taxed at 150% of the rate applied to other income. The argument put […]
One more reason why Switzerland is so expensive
There are many theories on why the prices of certain goods and services are so high in Switzerland. A well-known economic phenomenon can be added to them. Theories that help to explain Switzerland’s high prices include, import restrictions and tariffs on products in protected industries like agriculture, high Swiss operating costs, anticompetitive deals struck by […]
Swiss economy bounces back from second Covid slump
Swiss GDP grew by 1.8% in the second quarter of 2021 after contracting by 0.4% in the first quarter of the year, according to figures published by Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. Much of the bounce back was in the services sector as Covid measures were relaxed. Private consumption recovered strongly and industry also […]
Switzerland moves closer to paying second 1 billion to EU
After Switzerland ended talks with the EU on an institutional framework agreement aimed at replacing the country’s current patchwork of agreements with the bloc in May 2021, some in government have been focused on how to keep the EU on side. One obvious way to curry favour is to make the second 1 billion EU […]
Swisscom network down for most of Switzerland this week
At 11:20am on Tuesday 3 August 2021, Swisscom’s network went down for 45 minutes, according to Fing, a network monitoring service. The outage stretched across nearly all of Switzerland’s highly populated plateau as well as the most southern part of the canton of Ticino, affecting most of the company’s customers – see image below. According […]
Swiss supermarket Migros may soon sell alcohol
Currently, the Swiss supermarket Migros does not sell alcoholic drinks in its stores. Gottlieb Duttweiler, the retailer’s founder, instituted the policy to promote public health when the company was started in 1925. However, this autumn, the management of the cooperative is planning to vote on whether to allow alcohol on to the the company’s shelves […]
Vote to increase Swiss retirement age clears signature hurdle
The youth chapter of the PLR (FDP) has successfully collected enough signatures for an initiative to raise the official retirement age in Switzerland to 66 years old, reported RTS. On 16 July 2021, initiative organisers submitted 145,000 voter signatures as part of the formal process of launching a referendum in Switzerland. Under referendum rules a […]
