Author: switzerlandtimes.ch

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Zurich City’s citizens will decide on 28 September 2025 whether to ban petrol-powered leaf blowers. A Left-Green coalition wants only quieter electric ones, and only in autumn – from October to December. The city council and a majority of the municipal council are on board. But opposition was sufficient to call a vote against the move. Opponents, mainly centrists, call the plan needless meddling that will make gardeners’ work harder. They forced the proposal to a referendum, arguing that the tools are noisy but not intolerable. Many Swiss municipalities already have noise rules. It is not uncommon for excessive noise…

Last Sunday, Swiss voted to scrap one of the country’s most peculiar taxes: imputed rent, known as valeur locative or Eigenmietwert. Across the country 58% voted in favour of abolishing it. However, across French-speaking Switzerland, every canton voted against the plan. By contrast, in German-speaking cantons, with the exception of Basel-City, abolition won strong support. For decades homeowners have had to declare as taxable income a notional rent they would have paid had they been tenants in their own homes. At the same time, they could deduct mortgage interest and maintenance. The idea, first used in Basel-City in 1880, became…

Social media should be banned for under-18s, argues the head of Switzerland’s association of German-speaking school principals, reported RTS. Thomas Minder, president of the association, says young people need stronger protection from the addictive pull of online platforms, comparing smartphone dependency to addictions to alcohol and tobacco. Even adults struggle to use these apps responsibly, Minder told Tamedia. Do we really want algorithms designed to capture the minds of our children? The debate over social-media restrictions for minors often overlaps with calls to ban mobile phones in schools, he noted — though he dismissed such proposals as “political window-dressing” by…

Donald Trump has vowed to slap 100% tariffs on pharmaceutical imports to America from 1 October 2025. The measure, announced in a fleeting post on Truth Social, will apply to patented medicines, though generics appear exempt. Other imports will also be hit: kitchen and bathroom furniture (50%), upholstered furniture (30%) and heavy trucks (25%). The president says the goal is to shield domestic producers from “unfair” foreign competition. Drugmakers may avoid the levy if they shift production to America. To qualify, projects must already be under way, with factories under construction or ground-breaking imminent. The Republican has also demanded lower…

Switzerland’s right-wing Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) has filed a new initiative “To protect borders”. The proposal, backed by 110,000 signatures, demands systematic checks at Swiss frontiers and tighter asylum rules, reported RTS. Anyone entering Switzerland would face controls. If such checks conflict with international treaties, the Federal Council would be required to renegotiate them—or, failing that, pull out. Exceptions would apply for Swiss citizens, residents with valid permits of at least a year, and cross-border commuters. The initiative would bar asylum seekers arriving via a “safe” country and cap applications at 5,000 a year. Provisional admission—a status protecting people from…

On 28 September 2025, Zurich voters approved a citywide ban on petrol-powered leaf blowers. Only electric models will be allowed—and then only from October to December, the autumn season. Exemptions may be granted for major events such as Sechseläuten—Zurich’s traditional festival—and the Street Parade. The measure was backed by the city executive and a majority of the municipal council. Centre-right parties fought the proposal as petty meddling that would raise costs for municipal and private gardeners alike. Supporters argued the devices are noisy and harmful to fauna. They have now prevailed not only in the council chamber but at the…

Switzerland’s Young Socialists (JS) have launched their campaign for the “Pour l’avenir” (“For the Future”) initiative, arguing that the super-rich should shoulder the costs of combating climate change, reported RTS. The ultra-wealthy are destroying our future with private jets, super-yachts and multi-billion-franc investments that harm the climate, the group said at the campaign’s launch. They emit more in a few hours than most people do in a lifetime — it is only fair that they pay to fix the damage. Filed in August 2022, the initiative calls for a 50% inheritance tax on estates exceeding CHF 50 million, with the…

Switzerland’s primary schools are expected to see a steep decline in pupil numbers over the coming decade, according to projections from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO). The number of primary pupils will begin to fall from 2027, dropping by about 7% between 2025 and 2034. The decline reflects a sharp fall in births since 2022. The trend will affect all cantons and, in turn, the demand for teachers. The FSO expects the number of primary-school teachers to shrink by roughly 4,500 over ten years — a 6% decline. Fewer teachers neededRecruitment needs are already easing. Swiss schools hired about 6,000…

On 28 September 2025, Switzerland voted on two contentious matters: a state-run electronic identity (e-ID) and a revamp of property taxation. Both were approved, though one only just. The e-ID Act scraped through with 50.4% in favour and 49.6% against – narrower than polls had suggested. And, only 7.5 out of 26 cantons were in favour – Switzerland has 20 full cantons and 6 half cantons. Because this vote aimed to change a federal law rather than the constitution, it does not require a double majority – a majority of voters and a majority of cantons. The scheme, free and…