Tag Archives: Personal finance

Tribune de Genève. Last October, Geneva state councillor Mauro Poggia, had his department send out close to 91,000 letters to those receiving social benefits, asking them to contact the authorities if they had failed to declare any assets or income. Laurent Paoliello, a spokesperson from the DEAS, said they received 3,200 letters back. So far, we haven’t been through all the letters, he said. © Gvictoria – Dreamstime.com Another surprise was the 2,400 letters that were returned because the...

© Shannon Fagan | Dreamstime.com 20 Minutes. The Swiss States Council commission on public health endorsed a plan that could lead to higher health insurance premiums for those over 25. Swiss health insurance providers are required to pay into a communal pot to spread risk between insurance companies. The latest plan would reduce the amounts paid into this communal pot for every insured individual between 19 and 25 by...

20 Minutes. The Swiss States Council commission on public health endorsed a plan that could lead to higher health insurance premiums for those over 25. © Shannon Fagan | Dreamstime.com Swiss health insurance providers are required to pay into a communal pot to spread risk between insurance companies. The latest plan would reduce the amounts paid into this communal pot for every insured individual between 19 and 25 by 50%. The reduction would amount to CHF 92 per month. At the same time...

© Ginasanders | Dreamstime.com In Switzerland, how much you pay for compulsory health insurance depends on where you live. Premiums vary hugely by canton. For 2016, average monthly adult premiums in Basel City are CHF 545.60, Switzerland’s most expensive, compared to CHF 326.70, in lowest-cost Appenzell-Innerhoden. The difference between the two cantons is 40%. In addition to big differences between cantons, prices vary...

This week the bank Credit Suisse published its cantonal cost of living report. Its ranking considers a typical household’s biggest expenses: tax, housing, commuting, basic health insurance and childcare. It takes income and deducts all of these costs to arrive at a measure of disposable income. In a simplified world it might be expected that low tax rates would push up the cost of most other things as the wealthy...

20 Minutes. After reaching a historical low in the third quarter of 2016, rates started rising in the fourth quarter. Rate increases hit mortgage tenors of five and ten years. © Ashumskiy | Dreamstime.com - Click to enlarge Compared to Q3, fixed mortgage rates on loans of ten years went up an average 0.2% to 1.62% according to price comparison website Comparis.ch. Five year fixed rate loans went up from 1.08% to 1.14%....

On 12 January 2017, the Economist came out with its latest Big Mac index. Also known as the burger benchmark, the index compares the price of a Big Mac around the world. This catchy, if highly incomplete means of comparing the relative purchasing power of different currencies, uses the United States and the US$ as its base. Countries where Big Macs cost less than in the United States (in US$ terms) have weak currencies, and those where they are more expensive have overvalued currencies. ©...

In Switzerland, how much you pay for compulsory health insurance depends on where you live. Premiums vary hugely by canton. For 2016, average monthly adult premiums in Basel City are CHF 545.60, Switzerland’s most expensive, compared to CHF 326.70, in lowest-cost Appenzell-Innerhoden. The difference between the two cantons is 40%. © Ginasanders | Dreamstime.com In addition to big differences between cantons, prices vary within some cantons, which are sliced up into zones. For example, Zurich...

20 Minutes. After reaching a historical low in the third quarter of 2016, rates started rising in the fourth quarter. Rate increases hit mortgage tenors of five and ten years. © Ashumskiy | Dreamstime.com Compared to Q3, fixed mortgage rates on loans of ten years went up an average 0.2% to 1.62% according to price comparison website Comparis.ch. Five year fixed rate loans went up from 1.08% to 1.14%. While loans with a term of one year remained stable at around 1%. Mortgage rates remain low,...

20 Minutes. Hundreds of tax declarations containing private information were found discarded in a skip in the Swiss canton of Schaffhausen. The tax returns, with clearly visible data, were thrown out by the city according to 20 Minutes. Schaffhausen – © Aprescindere | Dreamstime.com The tax returns date from 2006.  The person in charge of data protection for the canton, spoke out against city executives and filed criminal proceedings against those responsible. The most sensitive data was not...