The February 2014 vote showed just how divided Swiss views on immigration are. While 50.3% voted for the proposal to stop mass immigration, 49.7% voted against it. A re-run could easily undo the result – it should be noted that an exact re-run is not possible under Swiss law. While the amendment to the Swiss […]
French-speaking Swiss, Nidwalden loves you!
Voters in Nidwalden last Sunday rejected a UDC Nidwalden sponsored initiative that would have resulted in French being dropped from the canton’s primary school curriculum. 61.7% voted “No”. The parliament of Nidwalden rejected the initiative ahead of the vote on the grounds it would negatively impact national cohesion and advised voters to vote against the […]
No French please. We’re Swiss…..
Two recent stories are reminders of the cultural and political importance of language in Switzerland. Choosing to learn English as a second language makes sound practical sense in an increasingly global world, however in Switzerland it is not that simple. Switzerland, a country with four national languages (German, French, Italian and Romanche), has to juggle […]
Swiss referendum: replace VAT with an eco tax – Yes or No?
The latest initiative from the Liberal Green Party is a vote that aims to replace Swiss VAT with a tax on energy. The proposal would eliminate VAT and replace the revenue with a higher tax on non-renewable energy. The tax would be applied to all non-renewable energy products at percentages related to their environmental impact. […]
The Swiss tax money go-round: winners and losers in 2015
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.
