A study published this week found that nearly 1 in 20 (4.8%) people under 18 in Switzerland received social welfare in 2022, reported RTS. Children made up 33% of the total population on welfare. The report called for more money to ensure this group is sufficiently supported. The 76,000 children in Switzerland receiving social assistance […]
Cutting Swiss tax free allowance sparks mixed reactions
From 2025, the tax free allowance for goods imported into Switzerland will fall from CHF 300 per person to CHF 150, decided the Federal Council this week. While some, such as Swiss retailers are happy with the change, many consumers and consumer associations are not. Politicians in St. Gallen and Thurgau, two cantons bordering on […]
Swiss farmers protest at subsidy cuts
On Wednesday, farmers came together in Bern to protest against planned cuts to subsidies, reported RTS. Because of the way farming is structured in Switzerland, farmers are heavily reliant on the support of tax payers to make ends meet. The federal government, which is running and projecting fiscal deficits, has come up with ways to […]
Swiss inflation dips below 1 percent for first time in three years
Consumer prices at the end of September 2024 were only 0.8% higher than the were at the end of September 2023, reported Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) this week. This is the lowest annual rate of inflation since July 2021. Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) dropped by 0.3% during the month of September 2024. The recent […]
Proposal to make Swiss motorways more expensive for foreigners
This week, two PLR/FDP parliamentarians proposed increasing the price of the motorway vignette required to drive on the Swiss motorway network, reported SRF. The two politicians making the proposal are from the cantons of Schwytz and Ticino, two cantons affected by the heavy traffic passing through the Gotthard tunnel, one of the key north-south connections […]
Swiss health insurance set to rise further in 2025
This week, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, Switzerland’s Health Minister, announced health insurance premiums will rise by an average of 6% in 2025 to CHF 378.70 a month. However, the range of the increase varies from 1.5% to 10.5% depending on the canton of residence. According the minister, the increase is driven by rising health care costs and […]
Swiss National Bank cuts interest rate
On 26 September 2024, The Swiss National Bank (SNB) announced further eased its monetary policy by lowering its key rate for the third time in a row by 0.25% to 1%. The SNB started cutting its key rate before the European Central Bank (ECB) and the US Federal Reserve (Fed). It first cut the rate […]
Swiss to vote on employee pension reform
On 22 September 2024, the Swiss will vote on two popular initiatives. The first is the biodiversity initiative “For the future of our nature and our landscape”. The second is on a plan to reform Switzerland’s occupational pension system. Reform of Switzerland’s pension system is an increasingly pressing issue given the predictable demographic shift underway. […]
Swiss parliament agrees to extra 4 billion francs for army
This week, Switzerland’s parliament voted in favour of spending an extra CHF 4 billion on the nation’s military, bringing annual military expenditure to 1% of GDP earlier than planned, reported RTS. The extra CHF 4 billion will bring the total budget to CHF 30 million spread across the period from 2025 to 2028. The Federal […]
Push for federal cuts faces revolt from cantons
Switzerland’s federal government is spending more money than it collects in taxes. This week, a federal commission set out options for spending cuts, reported SRF. The problem is than some of them would involve less federal money going to cantonal governments. Switzerland’s Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter hopes to break the deadlock around balancing the federal […]