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From 1 January 2024, electric vehicles (EV) will be taxed like their petrol and diesel equivalents, announced Switzerland’s Federal Council this week, reported RTS. Photo by Kindel Media on Pexels.comCars imported into Switzerland suffer a 4% tax. EVs are currently exempted from this tax. From the beginning of next year all cars including EVs will be taxed. The exemption, introduced in 1997, was designed to increase the rate of uptake of electric cars. However, on Wednesday the Federal...

With the ever rising cost of of Swiss healthcare, the government has been hunting for savings. This week it announced that it has ordered price cuts on 350 medicines from 1 December 2023, reported RTS. © Francisco Javier Zea Lara | Dreamstime.comOn average the drugs on the list will cost 10% less and deliver an overall expected saving of CHF 120 million a year. This comes out at around CHF 14 per resident, not a particularly significant sum when set against an average annual health...

Switzerland’s occupational pensions, known as the 2nd pillar, are feeling the squeeze of lackluster returns and an aging population. This week, the government added to the strain by setting the minimum rate pension managers must pay pension holders at 1.25% for 2024, a 0.25 percentage point rise over last year, reported RTS. Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.comInevitably, the announcement triggered the ire of both those representing workers, who receive pensions, and those managing the...

Every year, investigativ.ch, an association of investigative journalists, bestows an award on the public figure it deems to have exercised the lowest levels of transparency during the year. This year the award went to Karin Keller-Sutter, Switzerland’s minister of finance, for the secret decision making process surrounding the fire sale of the bank Credit Suisse to UBS, another Swiss bank. The arrangement was backstopped by the federal government, and ultimately taxpayers, and stripped...

Consumer prices increased by 0.1% in October 2023, reported Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) this week. Rising prices in October represent a reversal of the 0.1% fall in September 2023. Photo by Kampus Production on Pexels.comOctober’s rise in inflation kept the annual rate of inflation at 1.7%, 0.3 percentage points below the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) preferred maximum of 2% – the SNB equates price stability with a rise in the Swiss consumer price index (CPI) of less than...

Every quarter, Switzerland publishes updated spending forecasts for the current year. On 25 October 2023, it raised the 2023 spending forecast by CHF 300 million to 81.6 billion, an increase of 0.4% on the previous quarter, but still below the original budget. Swiss Budget © Marekusz | Dreamstime.comThe revision takes the ordinary budget deficit from an original CHF -700 million to -900 million, a figure 300 million above the late quarterly estimate of -600 million. At the same time,...

Total donations made in Switzerland reached CHF 2.5 billion in 2022, a record according to Zewo, an auditor of charities. The record figure was partly driven by the CHF 418 million donated to Ukraine. © Francisco Javier Zea Lara | Dreamstime.comThe CHF 2.5 billion donated in 2022 was 22% higher than the total in 2021 and 38% than the total in 2018. The figures showed an increase in donations aimed abroad with no increase in those aimed locally. In addition, the growth came mainly from...

Train and other public transport fares in Switzerland are set to rise 3.7% on average from 10 December 2023. This week it was revealed that the hike was pushed by the federal government, reported Swiss broadcaster SRF. © Hai Huy Ton That | Dreamstime.comThe decision to increase fares came after the federal government put pressure on Swiss Rail to push the amount it charges passengers higher. Switzerland’s price watchdog Stefan Meierhans said he was shocked. Internal documents revealed...

The costs of mortgages and building maintenance are rising. Rents are following. In French-speaking Switzerland tenant arbitration organisations are receiving a deluge of complaints and requests for help from tenants, reported RTS. Copyright Akara Kittipadimakun | Dreamstime.comIn Switzerland, it is common for rental agreements to contain a clause that allows rents to be adjusted up or down based on a reference interest rate, which is calculated based on the average cost of mortgage...

An initiative proposed by Switzerland’s Centre Party looks set to move to the next phase after government counter proposals were rejected this week, reported SRF. Healthcare Cost © Nuthawut Somsuk | Dreamstime.comThe cost of Switzerland’s compulsory health insurance will rise by 8.7% next year, something that has pushed the issue to the top of voters’ list of concerns – in a recent poll 51% listed the rising cost of health insurance as a concern. The Centre Party has decided a cost...