Di., Jan. 3rd 2023
The Federal Palace in Bern is where Swiss Parliament meets and passes new laws.
On January 1st, a number of new laws went into effect in Switzerland. Here is a brief rundown of them:
-Parents only have to leave one-half of their estates to their children under new inheritance laws, as opposed to the previous three-quarters minimum. Children do not have to leave anything to parents.
-Residents must pay out of pocket for Covid tests under a new law which mandates health insurance companies to pay for only certain tests, such as if it leads to medical intervention.
-Swiss banks and other financial institution must provide customers with a basic information sheet explaining their complex financial products.
-Residents and private businesses may not use certain herbicides and pesticides – namely those that pose health risks to humans and are toxic to aquatic species and bees.
-Manufactured drones must meet certain regulations adopted by the European Union, such as maximum flying altitudes and restrictions on certain airspaces within the country.
-Non-profit groups, such as sports and cultural associations, running at a profit of CHF 250,000 or less no longer need to pay value-added taxes.
-Swiss passengers who experience delayed or lost baggage may be eligible for compensation up to CHF 1,640.
-Residents who adopt children under the age of four are entitled to a two-week paid holiday within the year that the adoption occurs.
-Some, marked Swiss roads will allow drivers to use bus lanes when they are carpooling or car-sharing.
-Residents must first apply for a license from the Federal Office of Police before buying concentrations of certain chemicals that have been used in making bombs. Lesen Sie mehr.
Switzerland is on track to reach a population of 9 million in 2023 — a large portion of which is due to refugee immigration and asylum.
The Swiss People’s Party (SVP) is proposing a voter referendum that would cap the rapidly increasing Swiss population at 10 million until 2050, paying particular attention to immigration laws. Switzerland’s population has grown by 21% in the last 20 years and is expected to reach nine million in 2023. If that trend continues “everything will collapse,” according to SVP National Councilor Thomas Matter. The country’s financial reserves for health and education will be exhausted, Matter says. The proposed legislation would mean that the country would abandon international agreements such as the UN migration pact and the EU free immigration movement should the population reach 10 million before 2050. SVP members will vote on the language of the proposed referendum this week. Lesen Sie mehr.
The bearded vulture flying near Leukerbad, in the Valais canton of Switzerland.
Birds of prey, such as the bearded vulture, returned to Switzerland in droves in 2022, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The NGO recently published a list of just six countries that have successfully fostered the return of a declining species – Switzerland and its efforts to protect birds of prey made the cut. The past year was “favorable for the bearded vulture in the Alpine region and particularly in Switzerland, where 21 young birds fledged, compared to 49 in the Alps in general,” WWF Switzerland’s Cédric Jacot-Guillarmod told local newspaper Le Dimanche. Switzerland has fostered their return by making changes such as abandoning using harsh pesticides, including those with the chemical DDT, which can damage birds’ eggs and poison their food. The return of these birds to the Swiss Alps has been an “unqualified success,” according to the WWF. Mehr lesen.
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