
Expert group proposes CHF4-5bn of cuts to Swiss federal budget

A Swiss government-appointed group of experts has proposed a series of over 60 measures to help federal finances out of the red and save CHF4-5 billion ($4.7-5.9 billion) a year.
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In the next few years Switzerland’s federal budget deficit is expected to rise to around CHF3 billion a year. This is mainly due to additional spending on the army and state pensions.
A group of experts set up by the Federal Council to analyse the state of Swiss finances on Thursday presented over 60 measures that could considerably reduce the budget and restore a financial equilibrium.
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They propose to act primarily on expenses with the assumption that defence spending will not reach 1% of gross domestic product (GDP) until 2035.
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Other savings measures concern migration and climate policies, transport and social welfare.
The experts point out that the sharp increase in defence spending is one of the factors that make a restructuring necessary.
Translated from French by DeepL/sb
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