Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

Lukas Reimann, a parliamentarian and member of the Swiss Peoples Party (UDC/SVP), fought to have parliamentarians paid by health companies partially excluded from government commissions dealing with health issues. © Martin Šandera | Dreamstime.com He thinks vested interests are behind high health premiums and that cartels must be broken. According to him 23 out of 25 of the members on such health commissions have links to the sector. His motion was rejected by 69 to 99 votes, with 11...

Switzerland’s power grid is part of a large pool of ebbing and flowing electricity spanning 25 countries, known as the Continental European (EC) power grid. © Mauro77photo | Dreamstime.com Enough electricity must be fed into it to keep it at a stable frequency. The EC’s magic number is 50 Hz. Maintaining this requires a carefully coordinated trans-national balancing act. When electricity consumption rises, power stations across the network must work harder. Normally the system works well....

While many national governments, such as the US and UK, regularly spend more than they collect, Switzerland managed a CHF 2.8 billion surplus in 2017. In addition, CHF 2 billion of withholding tax is expected, which would push the surplus up to CHF 4.8 billion. © Jean-michel Feinen | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge Most of the CHF 71 billion collected came from VAT (29%) and federal income tax (32%). Other big...

Age discrimination in the Swiss job market appears to be getting worse. Between 2010 and 2016, the number of over 55s on welfare increased by 50.5%, something that cannot be fully explained by an aging population. The population aged between 56 and 64 only increased by 11.6% over the same period. © Sarah2 | Dreamstime.com Across the total population the number on welfare rose by around 10%, a far smaller rise that for those over 55. Well qualified people are also suffering from longterm...

Age discrimination in the Swiss job market appears to be getting worse. Between 2010 and 2016, the number of over 55s on welfare increased by 50.5%, something that cannot be fully explained by an aging population. The population aged between 56 and 64 only increased by 11.6% over the same period. © Sarah2 | Dreamstime.com Across the total population the number on welfare rose by around 10%, a far smaller rise that for those over 55. Well qualified people are also suffering from longterm...

While many national governments, such as the US and UK, regularly spend more than they collect, Switzerland managed a CHF 2.8 billion surplus in 2017. In addition, CHF 2 billion of withholding tax is expected, which would push the surplus up to CHF 4.8 billion. © Jean-michel Feinen | Dreamstime.com Most of the CHF 71 billion collected came from VAT (29%) and federal income and profits tax (32%). Other big contributors were withholding tax (12%) and fuel tax (6%). At around 21% of GDP,...

While many national governments, such as the US and UK, regularly spend more than they collect, Switzerland managed a CHF 2.8 billion surplus in 2017. In addition, CHF 2 billion of withholding tax is expected, which would push the surplus up to CHF 4.8 billion. © Jean-michel Feinen | Dreamstime.com Most of the CHF 71 billion collected came from VAT (29%) and federal income and profits tax (32%). Other big contributors were withholding tax (12%) and fuel tax (6%). At around 21% of GDP,...

On 4 March 2018, voters in Vaud will vote on a plan to provide basic universal dental care funded by a tax on salaries. - Click to enlarge The initiative entitled: Reimbursement of dental care, Pour le remboursement des soins dentaires in French, claims that 10% of the population avoid the dentist because of the cost. They also claim links between poor dental health and cancer, diabetes and premature births. Their...

Switzerland’s transport authority (OFT) recently gave Domo Swiss Express SA, a Zurich-based bus company, a green light to run three routes across Switzerland. Domo bus_source_Facebook_Domo.Reisen The first will run from Zurich to Lugano, via Basel and Luzern, the second from St. Gallen to Geneva airport, via Zurich and Bienne, and the third from Chur to Sion, via Zurich and Bern. Services are expected to run twice daily. The bus company, which will accept Swiss half fare and GA travelcards,...

According to Swiss broadcaster RTS, Swiss retailer Coop, along with five other members of AgeCore SA, a Geneva-based purchasing alliance, have decided to boycott a large number of Nestlé products in the hope of striking a better deal on price. Coop Haupsitz, Hochhaus, Aussenansicht © Coop Sales to AgeCore SA members, which include Coop in Switzerland, Intermarché in France, Edeka in Germany, Conad in Italy, Colruyt in Belgium and Eroski in Spain, represents around 10% of Nestlé’s sales in...