le News

A 2.5% pay increase for Swiss parliamentarians to compensate for inflation was rejected this week by the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house or senate, reported SRF. Bundeshaus – © Ocskay Mark | Dreamstime.comIn Switzerland, working as a member of parliament is a part time job, typically occupying 60% to 80% of an individual’s working hours. On average they are paid CHF 142,000 a year. This money covers pay and expenses. Expenses make up around 7% of the total. The rest is income...

Four times a year the rate of interest used to set the rents in Switzerland is reviewed. If the aggregate average mortgage rate goes down some renters can request lower rent. If it goes up some landlords can raise rents. This time the rate rose from 1.25% to 1.50%. Higher rents are likely to follow. Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.comThe interest rate used to set the rent reference rate was the average rate on Swiss mortgage loans outstanding at 31 March 2023. The average rate this time...

Switzerland has relatively accommodating rules regarding the advertising and sale of tobacco products. And it has correspondingly high smoking rates. That is likely to begin changing from next year, reported RTS. Photo by Basil MK on Pexels.comThis week, the Federal Council sent parliament its position on how to implement the successful vote in February 2022 to ban tobacco advertising to young people – the advertising ban was supported by 56.6% of voters. In 2021, parliament agreed to...

Data published this week by the Federal Statistical office show there are nearly twice as many men as women in research and development (R&D) in Switzerland. Photo by Chokniti Khongchum on Pexels.comIn 2020, 36% of R&D researchers were women and 64% men. In Europe, Switzerland trailed Iceland (45%), Portugal (43%), Spain (42%), Russia (39%) and Norway (39%) on this measure. However, Switzerland was ahead of Italy (35%), Finland (33%), Sweden (33%), Austria (30%), France (28%) and...

Data published this week show that Switzerland invested CHF 24.6 billion into research and development (R&D) in 2021, a sum 4% higher than in 2019 before the pandemic struck. Photo by Chokniti Khongchum on Pexels.comWith an R&D investment equivalent to 3.4% of GDP, Switzerland was fourth internationally behind only the United States (3.5%), South Korea (4.9%) and Israel (5.6%). R&D investment in 2021 in Switzerland was 4% higher compared with 2019, the year of the last...

Figures published by Switzerland’s Federal Statistical Office (FSO) on 26 May 2023 show continued growth in the number of jobs in Switzerland. Photo by fauxels on Pexels.comAt the end of the first quarter of 2023, total employment was 2.2% higher than a year earlier and 0.6% higher than at the end of 2022. Companies in Switzerland reported a total of 7,100 (+5.9%) more vacancies than a year earlier and the employment outlook indicator remained positive, said the FSO. The number of...

On 18 June 2023, Swiss voters will choose whether to accept the government’s plan to raise company tax rates to a minimum of 15%. © Filmfoto | Dreamstime.comThe minimum 15% tax, which will apply to any company with annual revenues of Euro 750 million or more, has essentially been forced on Switzerland by the OECD as part of its plan to reduce global tax competition. Nations with low tax rates are able to increase their tax bases by attracting foreign companies. But a tax base boost in...

On 17 May 2023, Interpharma and Santésuisse published their annual report showing drug price comparisons across Europe. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comThe good news is the drug price gap between Switzerland and its neighbours has narrowed. The extra paid for on-patent drugs in Switzerland is now 5.4% on average. However, the price premium paid for generic (+45.5%) and biosimilar (+27.5%) off-patent drugs remains enormous – generic drugs are simple compounds where the composition is...

On 15 May 2023, the Federal Statistical Office published its latest residential property price index. During the first quarter of 2023, average Swiss home prices fell by 1.2%, leaving them 3.9% higher than a year before. Photo by marishalaugh on Pexels.comStand alone houses dropped in price by 1.3% while apartments lost 1.1% of their value over the three months to 31 March 2023. Homes losing the greatest value during the quarter were stand alone houses in rural areas (-4.5%). Apartments...

Last weekend, the PLR/FDP unveiled a plan to create a budget low cost health insurance option in Switzerland, reported RTS. Photo by Anna Shvets on Pexels.comThe proposal, which includes lower cost ways of delivering healthcare, will be presented to parliament next month. Examples of ways to lower costs include limiting the choice of hospital and sharing hospital rooms with more patients or in less luxurious surroundings. The plan is a response to rising health insurance premiums...