Both of these votes delivered firm “No” results. Child benefit tax exemption Only 24.6% voted “Yes” for the proposed tax exemption for child benefit payments. The voting difference between the city and the countryside was low with around 3% more rural “Yes” voters. French speaking “Yes” voters were only 7% ahead of voters in the Swiss German […]
Swiss vote: tax break for kids – Yes or No?
It is Swiss referendum time again this coming Sunday 8 March 2015. Some think that child allowances paid by the state to those with children should not be taxed. Currently they are taxed in the same way as any other taxable income. This vote entitled “Help Families” was launched by the Democratic Christian Party (PDC/CVP). […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Swiss vote: three times “NO”
30 November 14 Swiss referenda. According to the newspaper 24 Heures, preliminary national results of the three votes in Switzerland this weekend were overwhelmingly “No”. The Ecopop initiative resulted in 74% voting “No”, the initiative seeking to do away with lump sum taxation or forfait fiscaux resulted in 62% voting “No”, and 77% voted against […]
International Olympic Committee and FIFA attacked at UN General Assembly
UN Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai today called on international sports bodies, including FIFA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to respect universally recognized human rights at their events, especially the right to peaceful assembly. Maina Kiai condemned “private multilateral bodies” and singled out Switzerland-based IOC and FIFA in a speech to the UN General Assembly. […]
Throwing off the yoke: Swiss farm numbers decline
It is hardly news that Swiss peasants have been abandoning farming in recent decades but the phenomenon increased even further in 2013. By the end of last year, there were 2.4% fewer farms than were worked in 2012, particularly smaller farms of between 5 and 20 hectares. On the other hand, the number of farms […]
Swiss referendum aims to change health insurance
Many of those in favour of the Swiss health insurance changes proposed for the 28 September 2014 referendum believe they will deliver cost savings and reduce average compulsory insurance premiums. Swiss health care costs were the second highest in the world after the US and 66 percent higher than in the UK, according to a recent analysis by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Often […]
