This week RTS published a map showing which Swiss municipalities have the highest numbers of private swimming pools. Swimming pool champions are clustered mainly in Italian- and French-speaking Switzerland. Three of the top ten municipalities are in Ticino, five in Geneva and two in Vaud. Only the commune of Binningen in Basel Landschaft in German-speaking […]
Swiss central bank puts interest rate up this week
In November 2019 before the pandemic hit Switzerland, Thomas Jordan, the head of Switzerland’s central bank was warning that the bank might need to take interest rates below the unusually low -0.75% rate that prevailed at the time. Since then the rate has risen by 2.5% after a 0.25 percentage point rise announced on 22 […]
Swiss building costs continue sharp rise
Between October 2020 and April 2023, Swiss building construction costs rose by 13.9%. On an annualised basis the cost of building has been rising at a rate of 4.3% over this period, a rate higher than general inflation – the consumer price index rose 2.6% over the year to the end of April 2023. Building […]
Geneva votes against higher 10-year wealth tax hike
On 18 June 2023, citizens of Geneva voted on whether to boost the rate of wealth tax applied to assets above CHF 3 million over the next decade – an extra CHF 44 to 49 per 1,000 would be levied on wealth above CHF 3 million for 10 years. 55.12% of voters rejected the idea. […]
Swiss vote results on company tax, climate and Covid-19 laws
On 18 June 2023, Swiss voters voted on three federal initiatives on whether to tax large companies at minimum rate of 15%, adopt a package of incentives to reduce emissions and extend Covid-19 laws until mid 2024. Voting this weekend saw all three initiatives accepted. Majorities were in favour of higher (in most cantons) company taxes (78.45%), […]
Latest inflation forecast points to Swiss rate rise
The latest Swiss inflation forecast published this week by SECO points to a further rise in interest rates later this month. Although the expert group on business cycles continues to expect significantly below-average growth for the Swiss economy, with a rate of 1.1% in 2023, followed by 1.5% in 2024, its forecast inflation of 2.3% […]
Swiss cyber attacks – some evidence points to Russia
According to an interview by SRF, the perpetrators of numerous recent cyber attacks in Switzerland may come from Russia. Several Swiss federal government websites have been attacked recently. Swiss Rail was affected, with ticket online ticket sales temporarily blocked. The federal parliament website was attacked last week and two newspaper websites, the NZZ and CH-Media […]
Swiss government moves closer to abolishing fake taxable rents
Every year, home owners in Switzerland who live in their properties must add an imputed rent to their taxable income, adding to their tax bill. The system was introduced in the 1940s to fund government shortfalls during the war. A number of politicians and members of the public have tried for roughly two decades to […]
WWF hits out at barbecue meat discounts
Meat for barbecues is often heavily discounted while discounts on plants-based products are relatively rare, according to a study by WWF Switzerland, reported RTS. Animal products benefitted from more frequent and higher discounts, said WWF. Out of 150 products discounted in Switzerland between the end of April and mid-May 2023, 95% were animal products, which […]
Practically no gender pay inequality, shows Swiss study
A study done by the University of St. Gallen on behalf of the Swiss Employers’ Association published this week found there was practically no pay inequality between men and women in Switzerland, reported RTS. The study looked at analysis done on 461 companies in Switzerland using a federal government framework. According to the results 99.3% […]
