On 18 September 2023, the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house, followed parliament in passing changes to Swiss tenancy laws that make life easier for landlords, reported parlament.ch. Two changes reduce tenants ability to sublet and make it easier for landlords to end rental contracts. Supported by 25 versus 11, the upper house passed a […]
Swiss government’s generics push could cut 250 million from health bill
Many drugs come in two forms: expensive branded drugs and cheaper generic copies. Switzerland’s Federal Council hopes a shift to cheaper generic and bio-similar medicines can shave CHF 250 million from Switzerland’s rapidly rising cost of healthcare, reported SRF. New rules on medicine choices and health insurance were already set to come into force on […]
Swiss inflation remains stable in August
Switzerland’s consumer price index (CPI) increased by 0.2% in August 2023 compared with the previous month, an annualised rate of 2.4%. However, year-on-year inflation was +1.6% compared with the same month of the previous year, below the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) targeted maximum rate of 2.0%, reported Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The 0.2% increase […]
Swiss economy stalls in second quarter of 2023
Switzerland’s economy failed to expand in the second quarter of 2023, recording zero growth, according to data from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). In addition, economists are now lowering their growth forecasts for the year, reported SRF. The economic slowdown is being driven by a number of economic headwinds. Slowing economies in Germany […]
Swiss unions demands 4% pay hike
The Swiss union association Travail.Suisse is demanding salary increases of between 3.5% and 4.5%, depending on the sector, for all workers reported RTS. The organisation argues that the demanded hike is justified as a way to keep salaries aligned with cost of living increases and rising productivity. It says that costs such as healthcare and […]
Swiss electricity company says it is not responsible for further planned price hikes in 2024
Christian Petit, the head of Romande Energie told RTS that the company is not responsible for impeding hikes in the price of electricity. The largest electricity provider in French-speaking Switzerland plans to raise electricity prices further in 2024 after roughly doubling prices in 2023. However, its boss argues the electricity company is not to blame […]
The high cost of protecting Swiss farmers
Swiss farmers are heavily supported by taxpayers. In addition to higher taxes, Swiss consumers must also dig deep to cover the import tariffs built into some food prices. Tariffs on meat are well known. But they are also significant on some vegetables, reports SRF. During Switzerland’s cherry tomato harvest season, which runs from May to […]
Swiss central bank suffers large 2nd-quarter loss
On 31 July 2023, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced it had made a loss of CHF 13.2 billion during the second quarter of 2023. This takes the bank’s net equity down to CHF 79 billion and pushes the reserves used to make distributions to the cantons deeper into negative territory – at 30 June […]
Swiss to vote on subsidised childcare
On 26 July 2023, the administration announced that it had given a green light to a vote on a proposal to provide “good affordable childcare for everyone”. A total of 102,238 valid signatures were confirmed, a figure beyond the 100,000 required to call a popular vote in Switzerland. Vote organisers want day-care centres to be […]
Swiss Post announces higher prices
This week, Swiss Post announced it would increase the cost of sending letters and parcels from the beginning of 2024. At the beginning of 2024, nearly everything is set to rise in price as the Swiss VAT rate jumps from 7.7% to 8%. In addition, more and more companies are joining the party, pushing up […]
