Cost of living to rise in 2005
Next year will be a costly one for the Swiss. Rents, health insurance, transportation and the price of coffee and cigarettes are all due to increase.
Economists are predicting that inflation – 0.8 per cent this year – will average between 1.3 and 1.5 per cent in 2005.
Health insurance premiums will rise on average 3.7 per cent next year, and a hefty 5.5 per cent for people between the ages of 19 and 26.
According to the Swiss Institute for Business Cycle Research, St Gallen will see its premiums grow by 5.3 per cent, the largest increase among Swiss cantons.
Canton Geneva remains the most expensive. Residents in the French-speaking canton will pay on average SFr411 ($359) a month for basic coverage – an increase of 3.2 per cent over 2004.
But the Swiss will have to shell out even more next year if they want insurance companies to pay for dental work and alternative medicine, since supplementary coverage is increasing 12 per cent.
Home disadvantage
The consultancy, Wüest and Partner, is forecasting rents will go up by about 2.7 per cent.
Housing prices are also expected to increase slightly while office space should become a little cheaper.
The government is increasing taxes levied on road freight by 50 per cent in 2005 and transport companies will try to get some of that back by raising their prices by up to 15 per cent. These costs are expected to be passed on to consumers.
The Swiss Federal Railways increased its prices earlier this month by between 1.6 and 7.7 per cent, depending on the type of ticket.
Car owners should get a break with oil companies predicting a small fall in petrol prices.
Expensive pleasures
Skiing will become a sport fewer Swiss can afford next year when resorts jack up their prices between two and three per cent. The average cost of a day’s ski pass will cost SFr45 – and in Zermatt about SFr70.
Caffeine and nicotine addicts will also be hit hard. A regular cup of coffee will increase by 10 centimes, and a pack of cigarettes will rise from SFr5.30 to SFr5.80.
swissinfo with agencies
Inflation is expected to average between 1.3 and 1.5 per cent in 2005.
Salaries will not keep pace – averaging a rise of one per cent.
Leading the way for higher costs are health insurance, rents, road freight and the price of coffee and cigarettes.
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