Swiss cantons have very different tax bases, tax rates and costs. Many think all taxes raised by each canton are spent there. This was true, however in 2008 it changed. A national financial equalization mechanism (or péréquation financière nationale in French) was introduced to reduce cantonal financial disparities. Now every year rich cantons pay and poor cantons […]
Why Swiss farm produce is so expensive
Swiss farm produce is expensive. It is not uncommon to pay over CHF 100 (US$ 105) per kilogram for the best cuts of beef in Swiss supermarkets, a multiple of two to three times the price of many other countries. Similarly high prices exist for many other farm products in Switzerland. Why is this? Small […]
Italy and Switzerland sign a deal to fight tax evasion
On 23 February 2015, Swiss Federal councillor Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf and the Italian finance minister Pier Carlo Padoan signed a deal in Milan to fight tax evasion. This deal marks the end of years of controversy and brings the double taxation agreement (DTA) between the two countries into compliance with OECD standards, in particular the rules […]
Swiss choose immigration quotas over EU bilaterals
Close to half of the Swiss polled in the recent Vimentis survey would chose to introduce immigration quotas even if it meant the cancelation of European Union (EU) bilateral treaties – 45% held this view. By contrast only 41% would put preservation of the EU bilateral treaties ahead of immigration quotas. 14% were undecided on […]
No Italians employed here – new Swiss sticker sparks accusations of racism
Switzerland’s small population of around 300,000 Italian speakers lives mainly in the canton of Ticino on the Italian border. Directly across the border are around 60 million Italians speaking the same language who under current rules are free to work in Switzerland. Add to this Swiss pay that is more than double the Italian average […]
Former Swiss president Didier Burkhalter wins a second vote
Last weekend the former Swiss president was elected Swiss of the year in an RTS Two Swiss television broadcast on Saturday. According to RTS he received 46% of the public votes made by the public by telephone and SMS. Last year’s winner was the Swiss tennis star Stan Wawrinka.
From Silent Night to Explosive Night: A blaze of violence in Zurich
It is Christmas time! Time for Christmas carols, Christmas cookies and beautiful street decorations. However, Christmas time in Zürich this year seems to be a little different: On 13 December about 200 often masked rioters armed with crude weapons including iron bars plundered and vandalised the centre of Switzerland’s biggest city, causing significant damage to […]
Gurlitt’s Nazi art legacy accepted by Bern
Switzerland’s oldest art museum, the Kunstmuseum in Bern, will be accepting a collection of modernist artworks bequeathed by Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of a Nazi-era art dealer. The masterpieces, among them paintings and drawings by Picasso, Chagall and Monet, were discovered in Gurlitt’s home a couple of years ago, according to The Guardian. Following an […]
Meet the new President
Switzerland’s parliament has re-elected Social Democrat, Simonetta Sommaruga (54) to the Federal Council to become the new President of Switzerland. She received 181 votes (well over 80%) in Wednesday’s parliamentary vote in Bern. She replaces Didier Burkhalter, the Foreign Minister. Sommaruga was first elected to the seven-strong cabinet in 2010 where she took over the […]
Switzerland’s initiatives: Too much democracy?
Взять онлайн займ на карту. The overwhelming vote on 30 November against even more limited immigration (Ecopop); an end to special tax rates for wealthy foreigners and minimal gold reserves enabled the Federal Council in Bern, which had opposed all three initiatives, to sigh with relief. What the government did not need were more obstacles […]
