A referendum aimed at preventing the Swiss government from introducing compulsory vaccinations has collected more than the required 100,000 signatures to put the question to Swiss voters. In addition, the signatures have been verified by the authorities, according to 20 Minutes. Vote organisers announced the collection of around 125,000 signatures. After official counting and verification […]
Switzerland remains in top 10 for lowest corruption
Switzerland was ranked tenth in the latest 2021 Corruption Perception Index (CPI) published by Transparency International this week. The index ranks 180 countries and territories around the world by their perceived levels of public sector corruption, with results ranging from 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). This year’s index reveals that corruption levels are at […]
Electric scooter accidents on the rise in Switzerland
With more and more electric scooters on Swiss streets every year the number of accidents is rising. In 2021, there were around 2,500 accidents involving electric scooters in Switzerland, according to an estimate by Suva, a public insurer. The latest figure is three times the 800 accidents involving electric scooters estimated by Suva in 2019. […]
Man must reimburse welfare payments with inheritance, rules Bern tribunal
In some parts of Switzerland, welfare payments are sometimes considered more like bridging loans to help someone through a financially difficult period rather than a one-way payment. A recent case in the canton of Bern shows this system in action. According to 20 Minutes, a man who received welfare over 20 years was asked to […]
Switzerland’s new president in 2022
In Switzerland, the position of president is ceremonial. Switzerland’s executive is led jointly by all seven members of the Federal Council, known as les sept sages (the seven wise ones) in French-speaking Switzerland. From left to right: Guy Parmelin, Alain Berset (vice-president), Simonetta Sommaruga, Viola Amherd, Walter Thurnherr (Federal Chancellor), Ueli Maurer, Ignazio Cassis (president), Karin Keller-Sutter. […]
Switzerland to follow France and investigate sexual abuse in Catholic Church
Following in the footsteps of France the Catholic Church in Switzerland recently instructed two historians to investigate sexual abuse within the organisation, reported RTS. The researchers running the investigation are from the University of Zurich. They now have the task of collecting testimony from victims which will form the basis of a report on sexual […]
Swiss-EU relations – no second billion for the EU
Since Switzerland broke off talks with the EU on closer integration in May 2021, some within government have been looking for ways to send a positive signal to the bloc. On 30 September 2021, the Swiss government agreed to pay around CHF 1 billion to Brussels with no strings attached. 131 versus 55 members of […]
A Covid patient can cost more than 100,000 francs in Switzerland
From 8 December 2021, anyone in Singapore treated for Covid-19 who has not been vaccinated will need to cover the cost of their own treatment. In Switzerland, similar ideas were raised by Swiss parliamentarian Kurt Fluri in July 2021 and by Mauro Poggia, Geneva’s health minister in August 2021. Covid patients not only reduce the […]
Numerous complaints filed against vote on Swiss Covid rules
On 28 November 2021, Swiss voters will cast votes on whether to reverse some of Switzerland’s Covid laws in one of the nations most divisive votes. In the run up to the referendum, numerous complaints have been filed over how it is being handled. A number of those opposed to the government’s Covid measures are […]
Levelling up – the cantons giving and taking in 2022
In 2022, under the national financial equalisation mechanism, 6 cantons will transfer some of their tax revenue to Switzerland’s 20 other cantons. Switzerland’s cantons have very different tax bases, costs and tax rates. Taxes in Switzerland are comprised of federal taxes, cantonal taxes and municipal taxes. Federal taxes are the same across all of Switzerland. […]
