Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

Switzerland’s federal government plans to restrict the use of electric vehicles if there is a serious shortage of electricity, reported RTS. Photo by Mike B on Pexels.comElectric vehicles consume substantial amounts of electricity. An average Swiss car travels 13,500 km per year. An average electric cars consumes nearly 200 Wh/km. This means a household with two electric cars could be consuming 5,400 kWh annually powering their vehicles, a substantial amount and more than the electrical...

Electricity prices are going up in Switzerland in 2023. For those expecting to consume less electricity in 2023 than in 2022, reading the meter at the end of 2022 could save you money. © Thorsten Nilson | Dreamstime.comMost electricity bills are calculated by taking the difference between two meter readings and dividing total consumption by the number of days between readings to calculate average daily consumption. This average daily consumption figure is then applied to the relevant...

On 12 January 2022, Switzerland’s Federal Council decided to implement the minimum tax rate for companies that was agreed by the OECD and G20 member states in 2021. The 15% minimum tax, which will be applied to large companies from 1 January 2024, will generate extra tax revenue. This week, after a degree of wrangling, the government agreed to split the extra tax collected 75%/25% in favour of the cantons. © Ginasanders | Dreamstime.comThe new rate of 15% will be applied to all companies...

A federal initiative aimed at subsidising health insurance premiums once they exceed 10% of disposable income met with resistance in Bern this week, reported RTS. Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.comThe idea, which was put forward by the Socialist Party, would require the federal government to foot two thirds of the bill for the subsidy with cantons left to find the remaining third. First the plan was rejected by the Federal Council on the grounds that some cantons...

Every three months the rate of interest used to set the rents in Switzerland is reviewed. If it goes down some renters have the right to request a decrease in rent. If it goes up landlords can push up rents. This time the rate remained at 1.25%, however it looks set to rise next year. The interest rate used to set the reference rate is the average rate on Swiss mortgage loans outstanding at 30 September 2022. The average rate was 1.18%, up from 1.17% from the second...

A federal initiative aimed at subsidising health insurance premiums once they exceed 10% of disposable income met with resistance in Bern this week, reported RTS. Photo by Negative Space on Pexels.comThe idea, which was put forward by the Socialist Party, would require the federal government to foot two thirds of the bill for the subsidy with cantons left to find the remaining third. First the plan was rejected by the Federal Council on the grounds that some cantons might not commit to...

© Robert Buchel | Dreamstime.com On 2 December 2022, Switzerland’s Federal Council agreed to boost the salaries of those working for the federal government by 2.5% in 2023. Inflation, which was 3% at the end of November 2022, has fuelled demands for higher pay. During negotiations, staff representatives pushed for a pay deal that fully made up for inflation. However, finance minister Ueli Maurer pointed out that Switzerland’s already negative budget should be...

On 2 December 2022, Switzerland’s Federal Council agreed to boost the salaries of those working for the federal government by 2.5% in 2023. © Robert Buchel | Dreamstime.comInflation, which was 3% at the end of November 2022, has fuelled demands for higher pay. During negotiations, staff representatives pushed for a pay deal that fully made up for inflation. However, finance minister Ueli Maurer pointed out that Switzerland’s already negative budget should be considered when deciding...

Negative government budgets are not the norm in Switzerland. Over the 23 years since 2000, 14 federal budgets have been positive and 9 negative. This week the federal government signed off on a negative budget for 2023 with a hole of CHF 4.8 billion in it, bringing the number of negative budgets since 2000 to 10. © Pichetw | Dreamstime.comIn 2023, Switzerland’s federal government expects to spend CHF 86.2 billion, CHF 4.8 billion more than CHF 81.3 billion it expects to collect. A...

In Switzerland, 15.6% of purchases are made online, slightly above the European average of 15.5%, according to a survey by the delivery company DPD. However, when it comes to returning items Swiss e-shoppers are far above the European average. © Martinmark | Dreamstime.comThe most common items bought online in Switzerland are books, clothing and shoes. 49% of books, 61% of shoes and 68% of clothes are bought online. All of these percentages were higher in Switzerland than the European...