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On 28 June 2023, Switzerland’s Federal Council approved a budget for 2024 with a deficit of CHF 6.7 billion. © Guenter Purin | Dreamstime.comSwitzerland’s constitution includes a section designed to constrain spending to prevent the government from living beyond its means. The debt brake, as it is known, allows a limited degree of annual overspending that is expected to be covered by future surpluses. However, there is a wrinkle. The debt brake refers to ordinary expenditure, which...

On 28 June 2023, parliament agreed to extend the loss offsetting period for Swiss companies. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comIn Switzerland, any losses made by companies can be offset against future profits for a limited period of time. Currently, the period is seven years. This week parliament agreed to extend this period to 10 years. Any losses generated in 2020 or later would qualify under the new 10-year carry forward rule. The change will help companies that suffered losses during...

In Switzerland, mothers are far more likely to have paid work than they were 30 years ago. In 2021, 82% had paid employment compared to 60% in 1991. Over this period, Switzerland has moved from one of the lowest European rates of working mums to one of the highest. Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.comHowever, a sizeable employment gap remains between women with children (82%) and women without them (93%). In addition, few fathers have given up working to make way for mothers to work...

This week, VSE, an electricity association, said pricey electricity markets will likely lead to even higher Swiss electricity prices in 2024. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comPrices rose on average by 27% (+6 cents/kWh) in Switzerland in 2023. In 2024 VSE expects them to rise by a further 12% (+3 cents/kWh). This would bring the average price to almost 30 cents/kWh. The price rise estimates are based on the results of a survey of 135 the association’s members. The price rises are driven...

On 21 June 2023, the government published figures on the direct health costs of the Covid pandemic. During 2020, 2021 and 2022, the federal government spent CHF 4.9 billion, the cantons up to CHF 2.9 billion and health insurers as much as CHF 1.4 billion. The CHF 9.2 billion total comes out at more than CHF 1,000 per resident. © Jan Gajdosik | Dreamstime.comMost of the money was spent on Covid tests (CHF 3 billion) and vaccination (CHF 2 billion). Increased hospital capacity to cope with...

This week RTS published a map showing which Swiss municipalities have the highest numbers of private swimming pools. Photo by Perfecto Capucine on Pexels.comSwimming pool champions are clustered mainly in Italian- and French-speaking Switzerland. Three of the top ten municipalities are in Ticino, five in Geneva and two in Vaud. Only the commune of Binningen in Basel Landschaft in German-speaking Switzerland makes the top ten. Lugano, in Italian speaking Switzerland, tops the list with...

In November 2019 before the pandemic hit Switzerland, Thomas Jordan, the head of Switzerland’s central bank was warning that the bank might need to take interest rates below the unusually low -0.75% rate that prevailed at the time. Since then the rate has risen by 2.5% after a 0.25 percentage point rise announced on 22 June 2023. Thomas Jordan, Chairman of the board of the SNBThe SNB has now hiked rates from a low of -0.75% in June 2022 to 1.75% today, a total rise of 2.50% in 12 months...

Between October 2020 and April 2023, Swiss building construction costs rose by 13.9%. On an annualised basis the cost of building has been rising at a rate of 4.3% over this period, a rate higher than general inflation – the consumer price index rose 2.6% over the year to the end of April 2023. Photo by Yury Kim on Pexels.comBuilding costs rose 1% during the month of April 2023, compared to a general consumer price index rise of 0.2%. The worst affected regions were north west...

The latest Swiss inflation forecast published this week by SECO points to a further rise in interest rates later this month. © Cameracraft8 | Dreamstime.comAlthough the expert group on business cycles continues to expect significantly below-average growth for the Swiss economy, with a rate of 1.1% in 2023, followed by 1.5% in 2024, its forecast inflation of 2.3% in 2023, is higher than the central bank’s target this year, pointing to an interest rate rise on 22 June 2023 when the Swiss...

Every year, home owners in Switzerland who live in their properties must add an imputed rent to their taxable income, adding to their tax bill. The system was introduced in the 1940s to fund government shortfalls during the war. A number of politicians and members of the public have tried for roughly two decades to remove it without success. This week, parliament voted in favour of a plan to phase it out, reported RTS. Photo by ILOVESwitzerland on Pexels.comHowever, removing imputed rent...