In 1999, Switzerland signed a deal with the EU allowing free movement of people between Switzerland and the bloc. The deal came into force in 2002. This led to a rise in immigration into Switzerland, which in turn eventually led to rising rents. However, since 2014 there has been a marked slowdown in EU immigration […]
Swiss government forecasts 2021 deficit but no tax hikes
The coronavirus is set to knock a CHF 1 billion hole in Switzerland’s federal budget for 2021, according to a press release. Without the virus the budget was CHF 2.2 billion in the black. Post virus the budget is now CHF 1 billion in the red. The virus is expected to add CHF 2.0 billion […]
Swiss salaries rise faster than inflation for the first time in 2 years
In 2019, Swiss salaries were on average of 0.9% higher than the year before. A nominal rise of +0.9% combined with low inflation of 0.4% delivered a real boost of 0.5% to someone earning an average salary in Switzerland. This is the first time in two years that the average Swiss salary has grown faster […]
Swiss retail sales up 30% in May after COVID-19 measures eased
Recently published figures show a overall jump of 30.2% in retail sales in May 2020 compared to April 2020. May’s rise of 30.2% follows falls of 6.5% in March and 13.7% in April. However not all retail sectors experienced the same rise in May sales. Food, drink and tobacco sales rose 3.4% and fuel sales […]
Swiss National Bank forecasts deflation until 2022
On 18 June 2020, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) said it would maintain its negative rate of interest (-0.75%) and remains willing to intervene more strongly in the foreign exchange market. The coronavirus pandemic has led to a severe downturn in economic activity and a decline in inflation both in Switzerland and abroad. The bank […]
Coronavirus: national lockdown not part of Switzerland’s second wave response plan
Switzerland’s federal government is against imposing nationwide restrictions to slow the spread of a second wave on infections, according to the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper. The federal government plan, which is under development, is more regional than the response to the first wave of infections and focuses decision making power at the cantonal level, reported […]
Swiss parliament votes in favour of flight tax
A majority of Switzerland’s parliament voted in favour of introducing a tax on flights departing from Switzerland. 132 voted in favour of the tax, with 65 against. The tax would range from CHF 30 to CHF 120 depending on the distance and class of travel, according to 20 Minutes. Private flights would be taxed too. […]
Coronavirus cost could rise to 40 billion francs in Switzerland this year
The coronavirus could cost Switzerland CHF 40 billion by the end of 2020, according to the Federal Council. On 11 June 2020, the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house followed parliament in approving to extend the coronavirus budget by CHF 14.9 billion. The sum includes money to fund a hole in the unemployment benefits system […]
Swiss employer must pay employee’s rent, rules court
Switzerland’s highest court recently decided that an employee asked to work at home can claim a part of their rent from their employer, according to the newspaper 20 Minutes. An employee of a financial firm in Zurich, who got into a disagreement with their employer over the reimbursement of some of their rent, took their […]
Coronavirus: drop in revenue could leave Swiss hospitals with 3 billion loss
In Switzerland, the finances of hospitals are similar to those of a business. If revenues fall, as they did during the coronavirus pandemic, profits can turn into losses. During the recent phase of the pandemic, non-urgent operations were postponed to free up hospital capacity to care for serious Covid-19 cases. Postponing these operations has left […]
