After nearly ten years of European Union (EU). OECD and G20 opposition to certain controversial Swiss tax structures, Switzerland’s government agreed a deal in 2014 to do away with such arrangements. Under current rules Swiss cantons can offer preferential tax rates to certain companies, mostly multinationals with most of their activity abroad. This is now changing. What […]
Swiss 2016 health insurance refunds. Do you live in one of the lucky cantons?
Last week Switzerland’s federal administration published this year’s health insurance refunds. The largest sums were awarded to the residents of Geneva and Vaud. In 2014, the Swiss parliament decided to compensate the insured for excessive health insurance premiums charged between the beginning of 1996 and the end of 2013. The difference between premiums paid and […]
Why the new Swiss bank notes are set to become even more sought after
Swiss money is about to change. On 12 April 2016, the Swiss National Bank (SNB) will put a new 50-franc note into circulation. The new 20-franc note will be released the following year, and the other four denominations – 10, 100, 200 and 1,000, at half-yearly or yearly intervals after this date, with the last hitting […]
Swiss real estate heads further towards bubble territory
Last week UBS released its real estate bubble index for the last quarter of 2015. According to the bank, the risk moved from 1.34 in Q3 2015, to finish the year at 1.41. Anything over 1.0 is considered risky and anything beyond 2.0 is bubble territory. Before property prices crashed in the 1990s, the index rose […]
Inequality in Switzerland
The Swiss federal statistics office has published the latest data on income inequality in Switzerland. The figures look at income and show how it is spread across the population. They also show the leveling effect of government redistribution. There is much talk about the haves and have-nots at this time of the year. Ahead of the WEF gathering in […]
Oxfam list of the 62 richest who own as much as the 50% poorest
Oxfam list of 62 richest who together own as much as the poorest 50%. Together these 62 are worth US$ 1,762 billion. This represents 0.7% of the world’s total US$ 250 trillion wealth – estimate by Credit Suisse. The driving forces behind these enormous fortunes are typically, brands that have gone global like Mars, Zara or Nutella, […]
Billions of francs of unclaimed Swiss pensions – could some of it be yours?
24 Heures. You are working in Switzerland, find a new job in another country, leave in a whirlwind and forget to tell your work’s pension provider you are moving. If this sounds familiar then there could be a pot of forgotten Swiss pension money with your name on it sitting unclaimed in a special fund. […]
Median Swiss salary up and well ahead of the US and UK
Switzerland’s median gross salary rose in the two years to 2014. 50% of salary earners earn less than the median while 50% earn more. In addition, the gap between the top 10% of earners and the bottom 10% shrunk. The Swiss median salary climbed to CHF 6,189 per month. This represents CHF 74,268 annually and […]
Bad news for savers. Swiss pension rates cut.
This morning the Swiss federal council, the 7-member executive branch of Switzerland’s government, decided to reduce the minimum interest rate pension funds must pay savers. Starting on 1 January 2016, the minimum rate will be 1.25% instead of the current minimum of 1.75%. On 30 August 2015, the federal pensions commission decided by a large […]
Young Swiss have lost all confidence in retirement
20 Minutes. A survey by the newspaper 20 Minuten, reveals that only 12% of those under 30 expect to be able to retire. More than half expect to have to work until 70. Nine out of ten are concerned about AVS provisions and only 2.1% are certain there will be enough money. 26% think it […]
