A commission for the canton of Geneva’s government supports a tax on added sugar to fight obesity, according to the newspaper Le Temps. Bertrand Buchs and Delphine Bachmann, two elected officials active in the medical sector, are behind the initiative. The text required to implement the tax, which takes aim at added sugar, is likely […]
Portugal set to end tax holidays for foreign residents
Recently, the government of Portugal said it was looking at introducing a tax on foreigners residing in the country on special tax holidays, according to the magazine Bilan. Currently, foreigners moving to Portugal who spend at least 180 days a year in the country pay no income tax for a period of 10 years under […]
Switzerland most expensive country in 2020
It will come as little surprise to many that Switzerland has been ranked the world’s most expensive country. Put together by the magazine CEO World, the ranking pulls cost of living data on accommodation, clothing, taxi fares, utilities, internet, groceries, transport, and dining out, from a number of other studies. Norway ranks second, followed by […]
Poverty rate falls slightly in Switzerland
In 2018, the percentage of the population in Switzerland living below the poverty line fell from 8.2% (2017) to 7.9%, returning to the same level as it was in 2010. Most affected by poverty were those aged under 18 (9.6%) and those aged over 64 (13.7%). Single parent families (19.3%), those without tertiary education (12.7%) […]
New commemorative Swiss franc Federer and Einstein coins
Following the success of the pre-sale of Roger Federer coins at the beginning of December 2019, a further 37,000 will be issued by Swissmint in various minting qualities on 23 January 2020. The coins are commemorative. In addition to coins featuring the well-known tennis star from Basel, there is a tiny (3mm diameter) gold coin […]
Switzerland moves closer to taxing flights
A Swiss parliamentary commission, tasked with looking at the introduction of an environmental tax on flights departing from Switzerland, recently voted in favour a such a tax. A majority of 17 to 8 members voted in favour of the move. The tax would range from CHF 30 to CHF 120 per passenger depending on flight […]
Swiss franc one of only two overvalued currencies
Periodically, the Economist magazine judges the value of currencies based on the prices of Big Macs. This time around the burger price comparison found only two currencies to be overvalued relative to the US dollar: the Norwegian krone and the Swiss franc. The franc was almost 20% overvalued according to their analysis – click here […]
Swiss pension reform – closing the gender gap
The Swiss government is currently considering how to reform work-related pensions, known as 2nd pillar pensions. Pension finances are strained by longer life expectancy and low interest rates. Another issue is the low work-related pension savings of low earners and part time workers, groups women are far more likely to fall into than men. In […]
Swiss National Bank expects annual profit of 49 billion francs
According to provisional calculations, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) expects to make a profit of around CHF 49 billion in 2019. Most of this comes from the rising value of the SNB’s foreign currency positions (+CHF 40 billion) and a valuation gain on gold holdings (+CHF 6.9 billion). After adjusting reserves, the SNB will have […]
Switzerland is expensive, but not for the reasons most think
Anyone who has done a weekly shop in Germany, France, Italy or Austria and compared prices to Switzerland, knows how much more it costs on the Swiss side of the border. The cost difference is sometimes pinned on the higher take-home pay paid to Swiss supermarket workers. Right? Wrong. The website barometre des prix allows the public to easily compare the […]
