Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

The price of wood pellets in Switzerland is up 20% over the last 12 months, according to Patrick Schmutz, a wood pellet expert, reports RTS. © Stocksolutions | Dreamstime.comAccording to Schmutz, the price rise is due to a cold 12 months, especially last spring, and the success of wood pellet heating. More and more pellet-based heating systems are being installed in Switzerland. In addition, global demand for wood has been high, particularly in the US where the pandemic encouraged people...

© Sudok1 | Dreamstime.com On 25 January 2022, a study published by Zurich University Hospital found that 97% of Covid-19 ICU patients since the start of Switzerland’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign were unvaccinated. The study evaluated hospital data from 964 Covid-19 patients who were treated in intensive care units in Swiss hospitals in the nine months since the start of Switzerland’s vaccination campaign. Of these only 33 (3%) were vaccinated with one of the two...

© Zsv3207 | Dreamstime.com This week, Switzerland’s government set a date for the introduction of more generous tax deductions for childcare. From 1 January 2023, parents will be able to deduct up to CHF 25,000 per child in childcare costs from their annual taxable income, reported RTS. Currently, the maximum is CHF 10,100 per child. The change is the result of a new law that was created in autumn last year. Only external expenses incurred for the care of children...

© Bekirugur Bekir Ugur | Dreamstime.com In October 2021, Switzerland’s government created a law requiring online streaming services to pay money into a Swiss cinema fund. Under the law, from 2024, streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ will need to pay a levy equivalent to 4% of their Swiss turnover into the fund, which would be spent on producing Swiss films. A group of young politicians objecting to the 4% surcharge on streaming services decided to organise...

A 4-day work week on 100% pay has become a reality at some small businesses in Switzerland, reports RTS. © Marek Uliasz | Dreamstime.comAndreas Ott, the owner of a small graphic design studio in the canton of Aargau told the SonntagsZeitung that his clients reported no issues with staff taking Fridays off. Ott introduced the concept several years ago before he became a father. Since then the office has been closed on Fridays. He says the shorter week reduced revenue but not by 20%....

This week, Switzerland’s government set a date for the introduction of more generous tax deductions for childcare. © Zsv3207 | Dreamstime.comFrom 1 January 2023, parents will be able to deduct up to CHF 25,000 per child in childcare costs from their annual taxable income, reported RTS. Currently, the maximum is CHF 10,100 per child. The change is the result of a new law that was created in autumn last year. Only external expenses incurred for the care of children under 14 years old...

In October 2021, Switzerland’s government created a law requiring online streaming services to pay money into a Swiss cinema fund. Under the law, from 2024, streaming services such as Netflix and Disney+ will need to pay a levy equivalent to 4% of their Swiss turnover into the fund, which would be spent on producing Swiss films. © Bekirugur Bekir Ugur | Dreamstime.comA group of young politicians objecting to the 4% surcharge on streaming services decided to organise a referendum to have...

Over the last few years mortgage interest rates have been exceptionally low in Switzerland. However, since mid-December 2021 they have risen and are at levels last seen in 2018. © Clement Mantion Pierre Olivier | Dreamstime.comAccording to recent data collected the newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft, Swiss mortgage interest rates are 0.25 percentage points higher than a month earlier. 10-year guide rates at large banks such as Credit Suisse and Raiffeisen are now over 1.6%, according to the...

On 12 January 2022, the Federal Council decided to implement the minimum tax rate for companies that was agreed by the OECD and G20 member states last year. The 15% minimum tax rate is to come into force on 1 January 2024. © Marekusz | Dreamstime.comThe new minimum 15% tax rate, which will apply to multinational companies with turnover of more than EUR 750 million, was agreed by 137 countries. Under the agreement, if a country maintains lower tax rates then other countries can impose an...

In Switzerland, Gruyère is a cheese with a strict recipe originally produced in a region (with a town) of the same name in the Swiss canton of Fribourg. On 7 January 2022, a judge at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia affirmed a ruling by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that Gruyere is a generic word that cannot be exclusively reserved for Switzerland’s distinctive Gruyere cheese. Swiss Gruyère AOP – © David Tonelson | Dreamstime.comThe name...