Voters in Vaud approved a 12% cut in income and wealth taxes on Sunday, with 53.1% backing the initiative. The measure will not turn the canton into a tax haven. Even after the cut, Vaud’s tax burden will remain above the national average. Vaud’s residents will continue to rank among the most heavily taxed in […]
Swiss health premiums rise again, but ageing is only part of the story
Swiss health-insurance premiums are going up again. Average compulsory premiums will rise by 5% in 2027, to CHF 412 (US$ 500) a month. Anyone wondering what they will pay next year can check the federal government’s premium calculator. One common explanation for the relentless increase is Switzerland’s ageing population. Older people consume more medical care, […]
Swiss parental-leave initiative gathers more than 100,000 signatures
Swiss voters are likely to have their say on a proposal to introduce parental leave. The Green Liberals announced on Wednesday that they had submitted 112,517 signatures in support of the initiative to the Federal Chancellery for verification. The number of signatures comfortably exceeds the required threshold, subject to official verification. The initiative is also […]
More than 700 medicines face shortages in Switzerland
More than 700 medicines are currently affected by supply bottlenecks in Switzerland, according to drugshortage.ch, a platform run by Enea Martinelli, a hospital pharmacist. Mr Martinelli is also behind a popular initiative that would require the federal government to do more to secure the supply of medicines. The proposal, backed by a broad coalition from […]
Major job cuts planned at Switzerland’s second largest mobile operator
Sunrise, Switzerland’s second-largest telecoms company, is planning another round of job cuts. Up to 450 positions could go, equivalent to almost 16% of its current workforce, reported RTS. The cuts form part of a broader overhaul of the company’s operating model. Sunrise says it wants to focus its organisation more closely on customer retention, network […]
Chinese delivery company to launch in Switzerland
Temu and Shein are sending a growing number of packages to Switzerland. A Chinese logistics firm now wants a share of their delivery business. Helped by heavy advertising and rock-bottom prices Chinese online retailers are squeezing domestic e-commerce firms. Now a Chinese logistics company is following them into the market and may squeeze existing parcel […]
Low water on the Rhine pushes up Swiss prices
Low water is making inland shipping less reliable. More freight may move by road and rail, pushing up transport costs—and, eventually, consumer prices. In August the Rhine at Kaub, a key measuring point in Germany, fell to just six centimetres, a record low, according to Reuters. The Rhine was not alone. Rivers across Europe, including […]
Swiss central bank maintains world’s lowest rate
The Swiss National Bank (SNB) has left its policy rate unchanged at zero, the lowest policy rate in the world. Inflation remains subdued. Consumer prices rose by 0.8% in August, the highest rate in two years but still comfortably within the SNB’s definition of price stability, which covers inflation of between zero and 2%. The […]
Swiss wealth inequality may not have widened after all
Switzerland appears, at first glance, to be an ideal country in which to measure wealth inequality. It levies an annual personal wealth tax, producing unusually rich tax data. Yet those tax records miss a large share of household wealth. A recent CES ifo paper estimates that roughly half of Swiss private wealth is absent from […]
Revolut moves to secure a Swiss banking licence
Revolut already has 1.3m customers in Switzerland. Now it wants a Swiss banking licence. Why? A new force may soon emerge in Swiss banking—though it is hardly a newcomer. Revolut, a British fintech firm, already has 1.3m customers in Switzerland. The firm has applied to the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma) for a banking […]
