Tag Archives: Editor’s Choice

The gross mean household income in Switzerland was CHF 114,984 (US$ 125,000) in 2019, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). © Petrina Calabalic | Dreamstime.comOverall, 40% of households in Switzerland had income over this mean while 60% brought in less. 73% of this income came from working, 23% came from pensions, welfare and household transfers such as alimony, and 4% from investment income. In many places an income this high would offer a life of mild extravagance....

This week, the Federal Council rejected two very different initiatives aimed at changing the state pension system. © Marlon Trottmann _ Dreamstime.comIn common with much of the developed world, Switzerland is facing a large gap between the money required to fund state pensions and the money flowing in to pay for them, a challenge driven by increasing life expectancy, a rise in the number of pensioners as the population ages and the way the system is funded. Switzerland’s government is...

On 19 November 2021, the Euro went below 1.05 Swiss francs, the lowest it has been since July 2015. © Skovalsky | Dreamstime.comThe Swiss franc is viewed as a safe haven currency and tends to rise when markets are bearish. However, this week the shift in exchange rate may have had more to do with the situation in Euro zone than a shift to safety. The Euro has recently weakened against a number of currencies including the Yen, US dollar and Pound. Currency traders appear to be concerned...

This week, the government of the canton of Geneva changed a law to require non residential buildings, with some exceptions, to switch off their lights at night between 1am and 6am. Thursday’s parliamentary vote in favour of the move is expected to cut the canton’s electricity consumption by at least 1%. During parts of winter, Switzerland imports electricity to keep its lights on. In November 2021, Switzerland’s president warned the nation to prepare for electricity...

Online harassment and cyberstalking are increasingly widespread in Switzerland, according to a recent survey. And the problem is no longer confined young people, reported RTS. © Katie Nesling | Dreamstime.comThe survey, which questioned 4,000 18-65 year olds in Germany, Austria and German-speaking Switzerland between 2 and 11 August 2021, found that the number of cases of harassment had increased by 10.6% since 2018. 39% of those surveyed said they had been harassed at least once....

Once a year it is possible to (easily) change your health insurance in Switzerland. To do so you must cancel your existing policy by 30 November, a date fast approaching. © Tero Vesalainen | Dreamstime.comDeadline for annual changes is 30 NovemberInsurers must tell their members what next year’s premiums will be by 31 October. Members then have until 30 November to cancel their insurance contract for the following year. All basic insurance contracts offer this possibility. This means if...

The amount of time spent working in Switzerland has been steadily declining since 2010, according to recent statistics from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). © Andrey Armyagov | Dreamstime.comIn 2020, an employed person worked an average of 1,495 hours a year in Switzerland, 7.2% or 13.8 days less than in 2010. To reveal the sharp drop in work hours in 2020 due to interruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic the data is split into the periods between 2010-2019 and 2019-2020....

In 2022, under the national financial equalisation mechanism, 6 cantons will transfer some of their tax revenue to Switzerland’s 20 other cantons. © Swisshippo | Dreamstime.comSwitzerland’s cantons have very different tax bases, costs and tax rates. Taxes in Switzerland are comprised of federal taxes, cantonal taxes and municipal taxes. Federal taxes are the same across all of Switzerland. However, cantonal and municipal taxes range significantly. Before 2008, all of the cantonal...

This week, the government of the canton of Geneva changed a law to require non residential buildings, with some exceptions, to switch off their lights at night between 1am and 6am. Thursday’s parliamentary vote in favour of the move is expected to cut the canton’s electricity consumption by at least 1%. During parts of winter, Switzerland imports electricity to keep its lights on. In November 2021, Switzerland’s president warned the nation to prepare for electricity shortages. Lighting...

Last weekend the management of one of Switzerland’s two largest supermarkets voted in favour of selling alcohol in its stores, reported the company. © Tea | Dreamstime.comCompany founder Gottlieb Duttweiler, who passed away in 1962, did not want the business to sell alcohol, something that was prevented by the cooperative’s constitution. Duttweiler did not want to fuel alcohol addiction with cut-price beer or other alcoholic beverages sold by the business he founded in 1925. However, on 7...