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...
Read More »Switzerland’s high online purchase return rate
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...
Read More »Swiss inflation remains at 3% in November
In November 2022, Switzerland’s consumer price index remained stable. At the end of November 2022, the price of the same basket of goods was 3% higher than it was at the end of November 2021, the same level as it was at the end of October 2022, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Photo by Karolina Grabowska on Pexels.comHowever, the headline inflation figure of 0% for the month of November 2022 hid a mixed bag of price movements. The prices of rents (+0.4%), gas (+2.1%), petrol...
Read More »No rise in Switzerland’s rent rate
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. Photo by triemli on Pexels.comThe 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...
Read More »Swiss rents set to rise as much as 15 percent
© Beriliu | Dreamstime.com Close to half of renters is Switzerland could face significant increases in rent, estimates Zürich Kantonalbank (ZKB), with rents potentially rising as much as 15% over the next five years, reported the newspaper Blick. The reference mortgage rate used to set rents, which was has been 1.25% since March 2020 could rise as high as 2.5% between now and 2027, said the bank in a recently published real estate report. This means that any leases...
Read More »Swiss rents set to rise as much as 15 percent
Close to half of renters is Switzerland could face significant increases in rent, estimates Zürich Kantonalbank (ZKB), with rents potentially rising as much as 15% over the next five years, reported the newspaper Blick. © Beriliu | Dreamstime.comThe reference mortgage rate used to set rents, which was has been 1.25% since March 2020 could rise as high as 2.5% between now and 2027, said the bank in a recently published real estate report. This means that any leases with a clause...
Read More »Switzerland’s 2023 motorway vignette unveiled
Every year Switzerland’s motorway vignette is a different colour. Next year it’s yellow. Valid from 1 December 2022 until 31 January 2024, the new stickers must be displayed by anyone using Switzerland’s motorway network. The price remains the same. The motorway stickers have cost CHF 40 for 28 years. Introduced after a referendum in 1985, the sticker originally cost CHF 30 before increasing to CHF 40 in 1995. Inflation since 1995 means the sticker costs in real terms around 15% less...
Read More »Inter-cantonal tax transfers to rise 5 percent in 2023
On 16 November 2022, Switzerland’s federal government announced the sums that will be transferred between the nation’s statelets or cantons in 2023, a mechanism aimed at ensuring wealthy cantons support those with weaker economies. © Eugenesergeev | Dreamstime.comIn 2023, CHF 5.6 billion will be transferred, a sum CHF 290 million greater than in 2022 (+5%). The total sum is equivalent to less than 1% of Swiss GDP. Under the national financial equalisation mechanism, six cantons will...
Read More »Inter-cantonal tax transfers to rise 5 percent in 2023
© Eugenesergeev | Dreamstime.com On 16 November 2022, Switzerland’s federal government announced the sums that will be transferred between the nation’s statelets or cantons in 2023, a mechanism aimed at ensuring wealthy cantons support those with weaker economies. In 2023, CHF 5.6 billion will be transferred, a sum CHF 290 million greater than in 2022 (+5%). The total sum is equivalent to less than 1% of Swiss GDP. Under the national financial equalisation mechanism,...
Read More »Confidential drug deals push up cost of Swiss healthcare, claims association
Around CHF 8 billion is spent annually on medicines prescribed for specific diseases in Switzerland. 20 drugs account for about a fifth of this cost, many of them sold at prices negotiated in secret. These confidential drug price negotiations are one of the reasons the cost of Swiss healthcare is rising so fast, claims Curafutura, an association representing Swiss health insurance companies. Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.comAccording to Curafutura drugs aimed at specific diseases...
Read More »