Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

Donald Trump’s tariffs threaten to dent Swiss exports. They have also sparked what Joseph de Weck, a Swiss historian and political scientist, calls an identity crisis in a country long used to navigating between great powers. Mr Trump treats trade deficits as the source of almost every American ill—debt, deindustrialisation, even the opioid crisis. Tariffs are his cure. Switzerland runs a surplus with America and so, statistically, is cast as a villain, de Weck told SRF in an interview this week. The tariffs are calling our foreign trade model into question, said the historian. The United States takes about a…

Switzerland’s parliament wants to scrap Switzerland’s quirky taxable imputed rental on owner-occupied homes. A vote on 28 September 2025 to impose a new tax on holiday homes is the first step to scrapping this taxable fictional rent. But there is a catch: the change would end most deductions for mortgage interest, home maintenance and environmental upgrades—except for work on protected buildings. That has drawn fire from a broad business alliance calling itself “No to the Renovation Stop”, which includes the PLR/FDP, the Centre Party, and trade groups such as AEESuisse, Bauenschweiz, Suissetec and Swisscleantech, reported SRF. Critics say the measure…

Switzerland’s labour market looked both buoyant and brittle in the second quarter of 2025. Employment edged up, but unemployment did too, according to a report published by the Federal Statistical Office this week. The number of people in work rose by 0.6% year on year to 5.36m, according to the Federal Statistical Office. Adjusted for full-time equivalents, the increase was 0.5%. Seasonally, employment was flat compared with the first quarter. The gains came almost entirely from abroad. Foreign workers rose by 2.3% to 1.87m, led by those with residence permits (+5.6%) and cross-border commuters (+1.7%). Short-term residents fell by 6.1%.…

Swiss voters expect pain from America’s new border taxes but do not want Bern to blink. In a YouGov Switzerland poll, two-thirds (66%) say the 39% tariff on Swiss exports to the United States—introduced on 7 August 2025—will significantly harm the economy. Only 5% foresee little or no impact. Despite that, just a quarter (25%) favour making concessions to Washington to ease the duties. A clear majority (65%) think Switzerland should resist pressure even if the 39% levy stays. Half of respondents say the country ought to rely more on domestic products, accepting higher prices at home if necessary.Promising more…

The Federal Council and Parliament urge voters to back, on 28 September 2025, a constitutional change that would let cantons levy a special property tax on owner-occupied second homes. The measure is a prerequisite for a wider reform of housing taxation that would scrap the “imputed rent” now charged to home owners. At a press conference on 15 August 2025, President Karin Keller-Sutter set out the case for approval. Today Swiss homeowners must declare as income the notional rent their property could fetch, while deducting most mortgage interest and maintenance costs. Under the reform, imputed rent on main and second…

Switzerland now expects a much smaller federal deficit in 2025, reported RTS. The shortfall should be about CHF 200 million, versus the CHF 800 million pencilled into the budget. Bern says the improvement does not alter its savings programme. The better than expected result driven by a windfall rather than a trend. The upgrade stems mainly from stronger tax receipts, above all direct federal tax. Because takings exceeded expectations last year, forecast revenues for 2025 have been raised by CHF 1.5 billion. Profit tax is buoyed by extra payments for 2022–23 from Geneva-based energy and commodity traders; roughly CHF 900…

After 23 hours of pandemonium in bullion markets, the White House has hinted it may row back on a decision that sent gold traders scrambling. An executive order, to be issued “in the near future”, will clarify that imports of gold bars are not, in fact, subject to tariffs, according to an official statement, reported Bloomberg. The aim, the administration says, is to correct “misinformation” about duties on gold and other speciality goods. The reassurance followed a surprise ruling from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which stated that one-kilogram and 100-ounce gold bars would incur reciprocal tariffs. The decision, triggered…

Switzerland’s unemployment rate held steady at 2.7% in July 2025, unchanged from the previous month, according to data published this week by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO). Adjusted for seasonal variation, the figure remained flat at 2.9%. SECO’s Directorate of Labour, noted that current joblessness is broadly in line with the Swiss labour market’s long-term average. Yet the stability masks deeper undercurrents. The number of people registered as unemployed rose by 1.8% compared with June, to 129,154. The year-on-year increase is more striking: unemployment in July was nearly 20% higher than a year earlier. Export-oriented sectors have begun…

Not all Swiss cantons are equally exposed to America’s new tariff regime. Some—particularly those with close industrial or economic ties to the United States—stand to lose far more than others, reported RTS. Nidwalden tops the list of those most affected. Nearly half of its exports cross the Atlantic, largely thanks to Pilatus, the aircraft manufacturer headquartered in Stans and the canton’s largest employer, with around 3,000 staff. The firm recently announced a temporary halt to deliveries to the US, underlining the impact of the new 39% import duty introduced by Washington on Swiss goods. Three of the top five cantons…

Cases of West Nile virus are climbing in Italy. Since the start of the year, 173 infections have been confirmed, 84 of them in the past week alone, according to national health authorities. The Lazio region, which includes Rome, has been the hardest hit, accounting for 104 cases this year. Eleven deaths have been reported in Italy so far this year: one in Piedmont, four in Lazio and six in Campania. The case fatality rate among patients with the neuroinvasive form of the virus stands at 15%—lower than in 2018 (20%) but slightly higher than in 2024 (14%). Switzerland, by…