After a legal analyis the government of the canton of Geneva has decided that drivers of the ride hailing service are employees rather than independent contractors, effectively banning Uber from operating under its current model. © Oleksandr Lutsenko | Dreamstime.com In an interview with RTS, Mauro Poggia, a lawyer and Geneva state councillor, said that Uber is a transport company and as such must employ its drivers. Employees are treated differently to contractors. One of the key...
Read More »Negative rates might go lower, says Swiss National Bank chairman
Thomas Jordan, chairman of the Swiss National Bank (SNB), told the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper recently that central bank interest rates might need to go further into negative territory. Thomas Jordan, Chairman of the Swiss National Bank Responding to growing criticism of negative central bank interest rates, Jordan said negative interest rates could continue and a further reduction is possible. The SNB did not introduce negative interest rates to harm people, said the SNB chairman....
Read More »Swiss government cuts drug prices by 100 million francs
© Tero Vesalainen Dreamstime.com Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) recently announced it had reduced the price Swiss healthcare providers and patients will pay for 257 drugs by 16.3%. These lower prices, which take affect on 1 December 2019, are expected to save CHF 100 million annually. The FOPH looked at the prices of 478 drugs and achieved price reductions on 257 (54%) of them. The government has promised to cut healthcare costs via a range of...
Read More »Swiss commission supports new laws to protect whistleblowers
A commission of the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house, is in favour of new rules to protect whistleblowers. © Shawn Hempel | Dreamstime.comThe proposed rules, which would help to protect those who expose secretive information or activity that is deemed illegal or unethical, were supported by 6 commission votes to 2 with 4 abstentions. The proposal, which would be incorporated into employment law, would follow the cascade principle put forward by the Federal Council,...
Read More »Swiss parliamentary commission supports fuel tax hike
The parliamentary environmental commission has endorsed a plan to increase the taxes on fuel in Switzerland. © Tuayai | Dreamstime.comFollowing support for a fuel tax increase by the Council of States, Switzerland’s upper house, the commission said it supports a rise of 10 cents a litre until 2024 and 12 cents a litre from 2025. These increases are lower than those included in some other proposals. However, the commission decided these increases were appropriate in the context of all...
Read More »Swiss government cuts drug prices by 100 million francs
Switzerland’s Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) recently announced it had reduced the price Swiss healthcare providers and patients will pay for 257 drugs by 16.3%. © Tero Vesalainen Dreamstime.comThese lower prices, which take affect on 1 December 2019, are expected to save CHF 100 million annually. The FOPH looked at the prices of 478 drugs and achieved price reductions on 257 (54%) of them. The government has promised to cut healthcare costs via a range of measures...
Read More »Minimum Swiss internet speed to triple in 2020
The Federal Council, Switzerland’s executive, has confirmed a decision made by parliament to raise the minimum speed of broadband internet connections in Switzerland. © Andrey Metelev | Dreamstime.comFrom 1 January 2020, the minimum download speed specified in Switzerland’s universal service agreement with Swisscom will rise from 3 to 10 megabits per second (Mbits/s) and the minimum upload speed will rise from 0.3 to 1 Mbit/s. The change aims to boost social and economic activities...
Read More »Swiss remain the richest in 2019
© Marekusz | Dreamstime.com According to a recent report by the bank Credit Suisse, the Swiss are worth more on average than the residents of any other nation. The bank’s annual Global Wealth Report calculates average net worth per Swiss adult to be US$ 564,653 (CHF 560,643) at mid-2019. The median figure was US$ 227,891 (CHF 226,273). Switzerland’s combined personal wealth of US$ 3.9 trillion represents 1.1% of the global total, while the nation’s population...
Read More »Swiss remain world’s richest in 2019
According to a recent report by the bank Credit Suisse, the Swiss are worth more on average than the residents of any other nation. The bank’s annual Global Wealth Report calculates average net worth per Swiss adult to be US$ 564,653 (CHF 560,643) at mid-2019. The median figure was US$ 227,891 (CHF 226,273). © Marekusz | Dreamstime.com Switzerland’s combined personal wealth of US$ 3.9 trillion represents 1.1% of the global total, while the nation’s population represents 0.1% of the...
Read More »Swiss central bank makes 388 million from negative interest rates
The Swiss National Bank (SNB), Switzerland’s central bank, has earned CHF 388 million from negative interest rates since introducing them in 2014 to tame the rising strength of the Swiss Franc, according to the newspaper SonntagsBlick. Swiss National Bank – © J0hnb0y | Dreamstime.com On 15 January 2015, the SNB announced that it was abandoning its policy of maintaining an exchange rate cap of 1.20 francs to 1.00 euro. At the same time it increased negative interest on sight deposits...
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