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Every three months the rate of interest used to set Swiss rents is reviewed. If it goes down some renters have the right to request a decrease in rent. This time it remained at 1.50%. © Sergei Razvodovskij | Dreamstime.com The last time it dropped was 2 June 2017 when it fell to 1.5%, its lowest level since 2008. The rate is based on the average Swiss mortgage rate over three months. This rate is then rounded to the nearest 0.25%. On 30 September 2018 that rate was 1.47%, which rounds to...

Third quarter Swiss GDP figures released yesterday show Switzerland’s economy shrank compared to the quarter before. © Tobias Arhelger | Dreamstime.com GDP for the quarter to September was down by 0.2% compared to the quarter before, ending an 18-month run of quarterly growth. The fall in Swiss GDP follows a quarterly slowdown across the rest of Europe, in Germany in particular. A fall in the output of Germany’s automotive sector has had a knock on effect in Switzerland. Swiss manufacturing...

A recently published study ranks Switzerland 10th on gender pay gap. Switzerland’s gap of 17% is bigger than Italy’s (5.3%), Luxembourg’s (5.5%), Belgium’s (6.1%), Sweden’s (13.3%), Spain’s (14.2%), Denmark’s (15%), France’s (15.2%) or the Netherlands’ (15.6%), but lower than Finland’s (17.4%), Portugal’s (17.5%), Austria’s (20.1%), the UK’s (21%) or Germany’s (21.5%). © Andrii Yalanskyi | Dreamstime.com Confusion around aggregate pay gap figures leads some to conclude women are getting paid...

This week, Switzerland’s Federal Council decided the planned electronic motorway vignette will be optional. Drivers will be able to choose. © Denis Linine | Dreamstime.com Anyone wanting to drive on Switzerland’s motorway network must first buy a vignette, a road tax sticker introduced in 1985, which must be displayed on the windscreen. It currently costs CHF 40. The government’s announcement that the new electronic vignette will be optional is a response to concerns relating to data privacy....

Nestlé recently announced that the global headquarters of Nespresso will move from Lausanne to Vevey. The announcement confirms rumours that have been circulating for some time. © Zingaraheureux _ Dreamstime.com While the move will affect around 350 staff no redundancies are planned. From 2021, Nespresso’s global management team will be housed in a building it owns containing the Nest museum near Vevey’s train station. The global Nespresso team is currently spread across two rented sites in...

Switzerland’s unemployment benefits might be generous but they are strictly policed, as one recipient recently discovered. © Phartisan | Dreamstime.com For a period of up to approximately two years after losing a job, most workers in Switzerland receive 70% of their former salary up to a maximum of CHF 88,200 a year – the amount paid varies depending on circumstances1. To continue receiving the benefit recipients must show they are actively looking for work and file progress reports with...

Following a recently published decision by the Federal Tribunal, Switzerland’s highest court, VAT charged on Switzerland’s radio and TV licence from 2010 to 2015 will be refunded to all those who paid the fee over this period. © Radovan Smokon | Dreamstime.com The Federal Department of Communications (DETEC) has begun the process of coming up with the legal mechanics for the refund, which will be returned to households via a credit to a future licence bill. In April 2015, after the court...

A government commission has come out in favour of paid paternity leave and has until 2 March 2019 to discuss a plan to offer new fathers two weeks of paid leave, according to RTS. © Pojoslaw | Dreamstime.com The aim is to come up with a compromise between the 20 days in a referendum being put to voters at some point in the future, and the Federal Council’s rejection of any paid paternity leave. The commission said it is important to encourage changes that allow parents to share family...

A government commission looking at the rate, called for a reduction to 0.75%, while unions demanded a rise to 1.25%. In the end the Federal Council decided to take the middle road and leave the rate at 1% for 2019. © Andrey Popov | Dreamstime.com The rate is the minimum pension funds must apply to employment related 2nd pillar pension assets in 2019. Some pension funds are concerned about the long term effect imposed rates of return are having on the financial health of pension fund balance...

Before the advent of mobile phones few children had phone contracts. Now, many young children have them. So what happens when payments are missed? © Sebnem Ragiboglu | Dreamstime.com If the contract is with Swisscom, then children as young as 11 could have debt collectors pursuing them, according to a case reported by RTS. According to RTS, a 22 year-old woman ran into trouble renting a home after discovering she had a debt registered against her. When she was 13 her mother entered into a...