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The communes, cantons and the confederation raise taxes in Switzerland. The cantons and communes are autonomous in tax matters. As a result the amount of tax can vary widely depending on where a person lives. But the federal tax is uniform for the whole country. The lion’s share of direct taxes goes to the cantons…
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The SNF is a private organisation, largely funded by the government, which promotes basic research in Switzerland. It supports research in all disciplines, from philosophy and biology to the nanosciences and medicine. The main task of the SNF is to evaluate the quality of research proposals submitted by scientists and to provide funding on the…
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Switzerland’s central bank is independent of the government, which means it is free to set interest rates. Its policy goal is price stability, which it says is an important precondition for economic growth and prosperity. It bases its monetary policy on a medium-term inflation forecast. Its chosen reference interest is the three-month Libor rate (London…
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The Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products – Swissmedic – was created on January 1, 2002, from the merger of the Intercantonal Office for the Control of Medicines and the Therapeutic Products Section of the Swiss Federal Office of Public Health. Swissmedic’s mission is to guarantee that only high quality, safe and effective therapeutic products are…
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The Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit is a militia corps with a pool of at least 700 experts ready for deployment abroad in times of conflict or disaster. It is one of the Swiss government’s key humanitarian aid instruments. Members are increasingly seconded to aid programmes run by international organisations, such as the World Food Programme…
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Founded in 1880, the Swiss Trade Union Federation is the largest union umbrella organisation. It includes 16 unions representing about 380,000 members. Another umbrella organisation – Travail.Suisse – has 13 unions representing about 160,000 members. The Swiss Trade Union Federation has traditionally been close to the Social Democrat movement, while Travail.Suisse comprises unions that have…
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The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) is the government’s competence centre for all core issues relating to economic policy. Its aim is to create the basic regulatory and economic policy conditions to enable business to flourish. It provides support to ensure competitive conditions in Switzerland as a location for business, and helps to…
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Rösti is a dish of pan-fried grated potato that is particularly popular in the German-speaking part of the country. Röstigraben – the Rösti trench – is frequently used in political discussion to describe the differences of mentality between the German- and French-language regions, particularly when there are federal votes. This demarcation line has become somewhat…
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Presence Switzerland is the organisation that coordinates the Swiss presence abroad. The mission of Presence Switzerland is to convey knowledge about Switzerland, to create understanding and empathy for the country and to highlight its diversity and attractiveness. Presence Switzerland acts within a broad network to carry out and coordinate this task. Its Swiss partners include…
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The old-age pension system consists of three levels (pillars). The first is the state pension plan. Every resident must pay contributions to a federal insurance scheme, which pays out a pension on retirement to cover basic needs. The second pillar involves an occupational pension. This is an obligatory insurance to which employers and employees contribute…
