Tag Archives: Swiss referenda

The rising cost of Switzerland’s compulsory health insurance is a major political issue. The government has hatched a plan aimed at improving incentives in the hope it will reduce the seemingly never ending rise in health insurance premiums. However, a number of people sceptical of the plan’s ability to deliver the saving have organised a vote against it, which takes place this weekend. Photo by Harald Hechler on Pexels.comThe plan is focused on how various healthcare services are paid...

The rising cost of Switzerland’s compulsory health insurance is a major political issue. The government has hatched a plan aimed at improving incentives in the hope it will reduce the seemingly never ending rise in health insurance premiums. However, a number of people sceptical of the plan’s ability to deliver the saving have organised a vote against it, which takes place this weekend. Photo by Harald Hechler on Pexels.comThe plan is focused on how various...

On 22 September 2024, the Swiss will vote on two popular initiatives. The first is the biodiversity initiative “For the future of our nature and our landscape”. The second is on a plan to reform Switzerland’s occupational pension system. Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.comReform of Switzerland’s pension system is an increasingly pressing issue given the predictable demographic shift underway. Occupational pensions (2nd pillar) are pots of money built up from salary deductions....

This week, an error was found in the government’s calculation of the future hole in state pension funding. While the error, which overstates the shortfall by CHF 4 billion, is substantial, it does not change the trend, according to Stéphane Rossini, head of the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), reported RTS. Swiss Francs © Boris Bascarevic | Dreamstime.comThe CHF 4 billion error is highly embarrassing for the government, which has used the figures to argue in favour of pension reform,...

On 22 September 2024, Swiss voters will decide whether or not to accept the latest round of government reforms to employee based pensions known as the second pillar pensions. Swiss trade unions are against the reform, which reduces the annuity rate from 6.8% to 6.0%. Instead they are calling for a higher rate to compensate for recent inflation. Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.comSwitzerland’s pension system faces a similar demographic challenge to many developed nations. Its population...

This week, Switzerland’s Federal Council decided to cut CHF 35 off the compulsory annual fee households must pay for public television and radio. The fee will fall from CHF 335 to CHF 300 by 2029, reported RTS. The fee reduction will happen gradually, falling to CHF 312 in 2027 and then to CHF 300 in 2029. In addition, more companies will fall outside the criterion for paying the fee. The minimum annual turnover for qualifying will rise from CHF 500,000 to CHF 1.2 million. This will mean...

This week, the referendum roster was announced for 3 March 2023. There will two votes on Switzerland’s state pension system. One aims to tackle the impending funding crisis by extending the retirement age, and the other aims to alleviate old age poverty by increasing payments without a plan to pay for it. Photo by Monica Silvestre on Pexels.comThe first would raise the retirement age by one year to 66 by 2032 and then link it to life expectancy beyond that date. If life expectancy rises...

On 18 June 2023, Swiss voters will choose whether to accept the federal government’s plan to raise the company tax rate applied to large multinationals to a minimum of 15%. Swiss Franc © Makasanaphoto | Dreamstime.comThe minimum 15% tax, which will apply to any company with annual revenues of Euro 750 million or more, has essentially been forced on Switzerland by the OECD. Some countries increase their tax bases and the total tax they collect by attracting foreign companies with...

On 18 June 2023, Swiss voters will choose whether to accept the government’s plan to raise company tax rates to a minimum of 15%. © Filmfoto | Dreamstime.comThe minimum 15% tax, which will apply to any company with annual revenues of Euro 750 million or more, has essentially been forced on Switzerland by the OECD as part of its plan to reduce global tax competition. Nations with low tax rates are able to increase their tax bases by attracting foreign companies. But a tax base boost in...

Switzerland’s recent vote on state pension reform on 25 September 2022, divided men and women, reported RTS. Photo by Vlada Karpovich on Pexels.comThe vote was split into two parts. The first asked whether the state pension age for women should rise from 64 to 65 to bring it into line with the pension age for men. The second part asked whether VAT should rise from 7.7% to 8.1% to fund a looming pension funding shortfall. According to an analysis by the survey firm gfs.bern, 64% of men...