Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

According to data from comparis.ch, Switzerland’s most expensive apartments are found in Zurich, Maloja – home to Saint-Moritz, and Lavaux-Oron. Lavaux – © Annanahabed | Dreamstime One square metre will cost you CHF 12,250 (US$ 13,000) in Zurich, CHF 11,500 in Maloja and CHF 11,250 in Lavaux-Oron. Lavaux-Oron contains posh parts of Greater Lausanne, such as Lutry, and the UNESCO-listed wine terraces of Lavaux on the shore of Lake Geneva. Lausanne, where one square metre costs over CHF 9,500,...

Swiss employee associations are not opposed to a 60 hour week. Several parliamentary initiatives aim to loosen Swiss labour rules. The first aims to allow staff and employers more flexibility regarding hours worked and time off. The second aims to loosen rules on recording hours of work by managers and specialists. Another initiative aims to extend this to include employees with shareholdings in start-ups. © Racorn | Dreamstime Employee associations think flexible hours across the course of a...

A recent Credit Suisse report, entitled: Tenants Wanted, says capital continues to flow into Swiss real estate, boosting the supply of rental properties. Against a backdrop of negative interest rates at Switzerland’s central bank, investors continue to plough money into constructing new residential properties. © Tea | Dreamstime At the same time, declining immigration has hit the demand for rental apartments. Estimated net migration of 61,000 in 2016 is the lowest since the introduction of...

20 Minutes. In Switzerland, home owners have to add a theoretical rent to their taxable income. This means home ownership can increase your annual tax bill, sometimes substantially. © Ana Vasileva | Dreamstime For many home owners the tax effect of the theoretical or imputed rent is cancelled out by deductions for mortgage interest and home maintenance expenses, however those who have repaid their mortgage or never...

20 Minutes. In Switzerland, home owners have to add a theoretical rent to their taxable income. This means home ownership can increase your annual tax bill, sometimes substantially. © Ana Vasileva | Dreamstime For many home owners the tax effect of the theoretical or imputed rent is cancelled out by deductions for mortgage interest and home maintenance expenses, however those who have repaid their mortgage or never had one can be forced to pay substantially more tax for the the pleasure of...

A report published by the head hunting firm Korn Ferry finds pay differences between men and women doing the same job are statistically insignificant. © Clementgreenberg | Dreamstime The report says that while it is true that, as a group, women get paid less than men, it is not because they receive less for the same work. It is because they don’t get the highest-paying jobs in the highest-paid industries. Korn Ferry’s number crunchers took pay data on more than 20 million employees across...

In June 2017, Switzerland’s Federal Council announced plans to reduce the discounts offered to those willing to risk paying the first chunk of their annual medical bills. The plan included reducing the maximum premium discounts given for opting for deductibles, the amount paid by the insured before insurance kicks in. © Ginasanders | Dreamstime - Click to enlarge On Tuesday, according to 20 Minutes, a commission for...

A survey by price comparison site comparis.ch found 40% would struggle if Swiss health insurance premiums rose significantly in 2018. © Subbotina | Dreamstime The survey questioned 700 people across all of Switzerland. 20% of families said they couldn’t cope with a rise of CHF 10 a month and 13% said they couldn’t cope with a CHF 20 monthly rise. 17% of single people said an extra CHF 20 a month would break their budgets. When asked why they thought premiums continued to rise, those surveyed...

20 Minutes. A motion adopted by Switzerland’s parliament on 7 June 2017 proposes halting the import the meat of mistreated animals. The work of Matthias Aebischer, a socialist member from the canton of Bern, was originally focused on foie gras, frogs legs and fur, but there are now suggestions his motion might include animals slaughtered according to certain islamic and jewish rituals. © Balint Radu | Dreamstime According to the newspaper Tages-Anzeiger, Katharina Büttiker, the president of...

In June 2017, Switzerland’s Federal Council announced plans to reduce the discounts offered to those willing to risk paying the first chunk of their annual medical bills. The plan included reducing the maximum premium discounts given for opting for deductibles, the amount paid by the insured before insurance kicks in. © Ginasanders | Dreamstime On Tuesday, according to 20 Minutes, a commission for the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house, said it disagreed with the Federal Council’s...