Recently, members of the young socialists raised the debate of the social inequalities associated with two ticket classes again while on trains travelling between Fribourg and Bern. They complain that at periods of peak demand second class carriages are overflowing, while first class ones often have space and spare seats. Yvan Rime, co-president of the […]
Prisoner in Bern requests assisted suicide
A 64-year-old in prison in the canton of Bern recently asked the organisation Exit for suicide assistance. It is rare for someone in a Swiss prison to make such a request, although Pierre Beck of Exit told RTS that a gravely ill prisoner in Geneva made a similar request last year. Exit is taking the […]
Fireworks banned in many parts of Switzerland
Various bans related to fireworks are in place across Switzerland in the lead up to national day festivities on 1 August. Some regions have banned private firework displays, some have banned sales, other could ban all displays. For example, the commune of Chur has banned all fireworks including public displays, according to Tribune de Genève. […]
Heatwave warning for Switzerland
Temperatures are set to climb to as high as 35 degrees in parts of Switzerland this week, according to Swiss Meteo. The meteorological service has issued a level three heat wave warning, which it describes as severe. Warnings are measure on a scale of five. Regions affected include Valais, Lake Geneva, Ticino and Basel. Switzerland’s […]
Accident and emergency patients might soon be charged a pre-treatment fee
The Swiss government is looking hard to find ways to reduce the cost of health care. One idea is to make accident and emergency patients pay a CHF 50 fee before treatment. National counsellor Thomas Weibel put forward a parliamentary initiative to levy a CHF 50 charge at the time of hospital admission. The measure […]
New initiative aims to end age discrimination on pension contributions
In Switzerland, pension rules make it more expensive to employ older workers. The amount employers must contribute to 2nd pillar contribution-based employee pensions increases with age. Workers under 35 only cost an additional 3.5% of salary. From 55, workers cost employers an additional 9% – workers aged 35 to 44 cost employers an additional 5% […]
Majority favours later retirement for women, according to survey
In Switzerland, the official retirement age for women is 64, a year earlier than it is for men. A poll by gfs.bern shows that around two thirds are in favour of raising the retirement age of women to 65. Only 16% are against the idea, with a further 18% somewhat against it. Men (78%) are […]
Longest lunar eclipse of the century arrives this Friday evening
On 27 and 28 July 2018 the moon will be in the earth’s shadow. The moon will spend one hour and 43 minutes in the earth’s shadow. The last time this was exceeded was in 318 when the moon spent one hour and 47 minutes in the earth’s shadow. The spectacle will only be visible […]
Switzerland’s special tax deals less attractive from 2021
Foreigners who don’t work in Switzerland can benefit from special tax deals known as lump sum taxation, or forfait fiscal in French. Instead of paying tax on their worldwide income and assets their tax is calculated based on their living expenses. When someone becomes Swiss they automatically lose eligibility. The regime, which generated CHF 767 […]
Geneva set to vote on maintaining public spending in the face of company tax reform
An initiative entitled: zero losses, was filed this week in Geneva. It aims to ring fence current public spending in the face of future company tax reform. The initiative gathered 9,147 signatures, more than the 7,840 required. Under pressure from the OECD and the EU, Switzerland is being forced to make major changes to its tax […]
