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Switzerland is one a few countries that taxes wealth, a tax borne by a relatively small percentage of the population, due partly to thresholds and allowances. Photo by Liviu Gorincioi on Pexels.comOn 18 June 2023, citizens in the canton of Geneva will vote on whether to boost the rate of wealth tax applied to assets above CHF 3 million over the next decade – an extra CHF 44 to 49 per 1,000 would be levied on wealth above CHF 3 million for 10 years. The idea dates from the pandemic when...

On 18 June 2023, Swiss voters will choose whether to accept the federal government’s plan to raise the company tax rate applied to large multinationals to a minimum of 15%. Swiss Franc © Makasanaphoto | 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. Some countries increase their tax bases and the total tax they collect by attracting foreign companies with...

Switzerland’s ageing population is undermining the future financial health of its state pension system, a challenge facing much of the world. A number of Swiss politicians believe later retirement is the only way to meaningfully confront the issue. Andri Silberschmidt, a member of the PLR/FDP in Zurich, along with others, has launched an initiative to raise the retirement age by one year to 66 and index it to average life expectancy. This week, parliament discussed the plan. © Marekusz |...

On 9 June 2023, UBS closed a deal with the Swiss government to cover 9 billion francs of potential losses it could incur from its takeover of Credit Suisse Group, reported Bloomberg. © Hector Christiaen | Dreamstime.comThe guarantee relates to a specific portfolio of Credit Suisse’s assets currently valued at CHF 44 billion, equivalent to roughly 3% of the banks total assets. Under pressure from the Swiss government, the management of UBS Group broadly agreed to a deal to acquire...

Data published by the Federal Statistical Office on 5 June 2023 shows inflation was 0.3% over the month of May 2023, an annualised rate of 3.6%. Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.comThe 0.3% rise in prices in May follows zero inflation in April 2023. Across the 12 months up until the end of May, inflation was 2.3%, compared to 2.7% in April. However, the decline in annual rate hides the monthly uptick of 0.3%. The annual fall is due to the base effect. The monthly inflation rate was...

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...