Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
We’ve launched our new SWIplus app, designed especially for you. It brings you the most important news and updates from Switzerland, keeping you connected with your homeland.
Also in today’s briefing: following the House of Representatives, the Senate has now also voted to abolish the marriage penalty. However, the historic tax reform is still far from complete.
Best wishes from Bern,
From today, the new SWIplus app offers privileged access to key news and debates relevant to the Swiss Abroad. With an improved design and navigation, it delivers even more targeted content – especially crucial at a time when the concerns of the Swiss diaspora are often overlooked.
Like many of you, an increasing number of Swiss nationals are spending part of their lives abroad. According to the Federal Statistical Office, 813,400 Swiss citizens now live outside the country – 11% of the population. Many wish to maintain strong ties with Switzerland, and many will return one day. The updated SWIplus app from SWI swissinfo.ch strengthens this connection, making it easier to follow essential Swiss news.
The enhanced app provides daily and weekly summaries of major Swiss stories, explains political issues, and analyses current debates – always with a focus on the Swiss Abroad. It also offers practical content on emigration and life abroad, access to top Swiss public broadcaster programmes such as 19h30 and Forum, and new customisable features, including favourite canton selection, article-saving, and optimised navigation.
As my colleague Samuel Jaberg, head of the Swiss Abroad editorial team, puts it: “In this context, it is more necessary than ever to be able to count on a medium that covers the news of the Swiss Abroad and makes their concerns visible – within the community or to the Swiss living at home who are interested in them.”
Yesterday the Senate narrowly approved the introduction of individual taxation, aimed at easing the tax burden on married couples with dual incomes. However, it weakened the proposal.
The reform seeks to eliminate the marriage penalty, which meant couples often paid higher taxes after marriage. The decision marks a victory for the Women’s Alliance, which campaigned intensively for the change. It has now gained broad political support, including from the Radical-Liberals, Liberal Greens, Social Democrats, and Greens.
Individual taxation is expected to make it more financially viable for women in Switzerland to work. According to federal estimates, between 10,000 and 47,000 full-time positions could be filled if the reform is implemented, writes the Tages-Anzeiger.
However, the Senate introduced key amendments to avoid penalising single-earner couples. One major adjustment allows child deductions to be transferred between parents. Additionally, the Social Democrats called for tax rates to be increased for high earners.
The Federal Administration now faces a complex task: “The administration must recalculate the cost of the bill with all the changes,” says the Tages-Anzeiger.
The proposal will return to the House of Representatives in the summer session, where further amendments are possible. Opponents – including the Centre Party and the Swiss People’s Party – are considering launching a referendum.
Swiss companies exported CHF664.7 million ($756 million) worth of war materiel to 60 countries in 2024 – a 5% decline compared to the previous year.
Yesterday my colleague Emilie Ridard reported on the challenges facing Switzerland’s defence industry. As Europe ramps up its military spending, Switzerland’s War Materiel Act, which bans arms exports to countries at war, is putting domestic manufacturers at a disadvantage.
Today the Swiss government released new arms export figures, confirming the downward trend. The five most important buyer countries of Swiss war materiel in 2024 were Germany, with deliveries worth CHF203.8 million, followed by the US (CHF76.1 million), Italy (CHF50.6 million), Sweden (CHF42 million) and Romania (CHF38.5 million).
Meanwhile, Swiss exports overall rose by 4% last year, according to SECO.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
