Tag Archives: Business & Economy

The Pandora Papers, a leak of more than 11.9 million files from offshore service providers, reveal the widespread involvement of Swiss advisory firms in the set up of shell companies in tax havens. © Martin Valigursky | Dreamstime.comThe recent Pandora Papers contain far more information than the Panama Papers, which were leaked in 2016 and resulted in the fall of prime ministers in Iceland and Pakistan. The Panama Papers came from a single source, the Panamanian law firm Mossack...

The shape of the Nespresso coffee capsules is ordinary and unmemorable, according to Switzerland’s highest court, reported RTS. © Daniel127001 | Dreamstime.comIn Switzerland, inventions are protected for 20 years. After that they become part of the public domain and can be copied by anyone. Trademarked brands on the other hand last for 10 years with the possibility of perpetual renewal. Trademarking the shape of the Nespresso capsule was Nestlé’s way to restrict competition beyond the...

Switzerland is expensive. The prices of certain items, such as some meats and dairy products are kept especially high by a combination of trade tariffs and import restrictions. A lack of retail competition further adds to prices generally. © Typhoonski | Dreamstime.comFor some, shopping across the border is the preferred way to avoid high Swiss prices. Around CHF 10 billion is spent annually on cross-border shopping, according to one estimate. The current tax free limit of CHF 300 per...

© Cristianzamfir | Dreamstime.com Finding a place to live in Switzerland is difficult. Home availability is low and prices are high. On 13 September 2021, the Federal Statistical Office published data showing a sharp drop in the number of vacant homes since 2020, a development that will make home hunting harder. On 1 June 2021, there were 71,365 vacant homes in Switzerland, representing 1.54% of the total stock of housing. Since 1 June 2020, the number of vacant...

© Cristianzamfir | Dreamstime.com Finding a place to live in Switzerland is difficult. Home availability is low and prices are high. On 13 September 2021, the Federal Statistical Office published data showing a sharp drop in the number of vacant homes since 2020, a development that will make home hunting harder. On 1 June 2021, there were 71,365 vacant homes in Switzerland, representing 1.54% of the total stock of housing. Since 1 June 2020, the number of vacant...

Ultimately, the plants we eat are made up of energy from the sun and compounds and elements extracted from the soil. Meat, eggs and diary are the same, just one step removed. © Stevanovicigor | Dreamstime.comThis means the availability and nutritional value of food is heavily dependent on healthy soil. A recently released commission report raises the alarm over the lack of information and monitoring of Swiss soil and argues the nation must work harder to protect its soil. If a global...

Finding a place to live in Switzerland is difficult. Home availability is low and prices are high. On 13 September 2021, the Federal Statistical Office published data showing a sharp drop in the number of vacant homes since 2020, a development that will make home hunting harder. © Cristianzamfir | Dreamstime.comOn 1 June 2021, there were 71,365 vacant homes in Switzerland, representing 1.54% of the total stock of housing. Since 1 June 2020, the number of vacant homes has dropped by 7,467,...

On 26 September 2021, Swiss voters will decide whether to introduce a tax increase on money earned from company ownership and investments. © Pascal Halder | Dreamstime.comThe initiative named ‘Reduce tax on salaries, tax capital fairly’ aims to have income derived from investments and company ownership taxed at 150% of the rate applied to other income. The argument put forward by the initiators, a group belonging to the young Socialist Party, is that income such as salary reflects...

There are many theories on why the prices of certain goods and services are so high in Switzerland. A well-known economic phenomenon can be added to them. © David Taljat | Dreamstime.comTheories that help to explain Switzerland’s high prices include, import restrictions and tariffs on products in protected industries like agriculture, high Swiss operating costs, anticompetitive deals struck by international companies that impose higher prices on Swiss retailers and prevent local retailers...

Swiss GDP grew by 1.8% in the second quarter of 2021 after contracting by 0.4% in the first quarter of the year, according to figures published by Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs. © Joe Ahead | Dreamstime.comMuch of the bounce back was in the services sector as Covid measures were relaxed. Private consumption recovered strongly and industry also grew, although not as strongly as in previous quarters. In the second quarter of 2021, total GDP was only 0.5 % lower...