20 Minutes. Some Swiss politicians would like to focus minds on the costs of going to the doctor to reduce the number going for the most minor of reasons. Their plan would require deductibles to rise annually in line with increases in the cost of basic health insurance. Higher deductibles, they think, would put people off […]
Pension payments could become compulsory for self-employed in Switzerland
Switzerland’s Federal Council is looking at a proposal to make pension payments compulsory for self-employed workers in the same way that they are for salaried workers. In Switzerland there are three elements to pensions. A universal state pension, funded from social security payments, a second element, known as a second pillar, which is a pot […]
Swiss are the world’s wealthiest, says report
According to a recent report by the bank Credit Suisse, the Swiss are worth more on average than the residents of any other nation. The bank’s annual Global Wealth Report calculates average net worth per Swiss adult to be US$ 561,900 (CHF 567,500). Switzerland’s combined personal wealth of US$ 3.5 trillion represents 1.4% of the […]
Swiss regulator does not want to loosen mortgage restrictions
24 Heures. Swiss financial markets regulator Finma is not planning to loosen mortgage lending directives, according to its director Thomas Bauer, after the bank Raiffeisen expressed a desire for looser lending rules. In an interview with Zentralschweiz am Sonntag, Bauer said that this could allow certain households to get mortgages that they wouldn’t be able to service […]
Those with less are worth more in Schwyz than Geneva
Last Friday, the federal Swiss tax office published the latest statistics covering the wealth and earnings of the nation’s more than 5 million tax payers – Switzerland has wealth tax, so net worth is included in tax returns. The highest percentage of the very wealthiest (CHF 10 million plus) lived in Schwyz. Geneva also made […]
Migros experiments with personalised discounts
Tribune de Genève. According to the NZZ am Sonntag, in September, Swiss supermarket Migros launched a new system which offers personalised discounts. The discount experiment will run for a year in stores in Geneva, Nyon, Bern and Zurich. What is it exactly? Those with Cumulus loyalty cards will receive special offers via an app on […]
Plan to reduce health premiums for 26 to 35 year-olds rejected by cabinet
20 Minutes. A government commission has been developing a package of changes to Switzerland’s compulsory basic health insurance for the last five years. The group recently agreed on changes that would reduce the premiums paid by younger adults, who consume less health resource, and reduce the amount children pay. Part of this plan, which the commission […]
Swiss cross-border shopping declines
20 Minutes. Residents of German-speaking Switzerland appear to doing less shopping across the border, something that has also been observed in Geneva. According to the newspaper the Handelszeitung, Swiss cross-border shopping peaked in 2015 and local customs posts have seen a decline in VAT and duty collected since March. At the border in Kreuzlingen, near Lake […]
No more tax free shopping online
Important note: various Swiss media initially thought the start date for these changes was 1 January 2017. It is is fact 1 January 2018. On 18 October 2017, Switzerland’s government postponed the start date until 1 January 2019. Currently, most things ordered abroad and sent through the post to Switzerland that attract VAT of less […]
Swiss parliament allows retirement age to go to 67
Switzerland’s parliament voted today on whether the official retirement age should be allowed to rise to 67. With 106 votes for, and 90 against, the National Council approved a plan to deal with the financial challenges of providing pensions in an era with more old people who are living longer. The plan includes automatic hikes in […]
