Regional trains, especially in border areas, suffered losses as tourism dropped when the franc climbed
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Four rail groups are receiving CHF21 million in aid from the Swiss government to offset some of the losses they suffered in 2011 due to the rapid increase in the value of the Swiss franc during the year.
All four provide transalpine shipping and use combined or piggyback cargo transport, carrying trucks to reduce the environmental impact on the Alps.
The government in 2011 set aside more than CHF28m in credit for which companies could apply, showing the losses directly linked to the currency’s sudden rise. Four presented their figures at the start of 2012 and will be helped out of the funds set aside: BLS Cargo, CFF Cargo International, Crossrail and TX Logistik.
Another CHF11.2m was distributed in December 2011 to a number of transport companies, mainly regional, which lost money because of a sharp fall in tourism due to the high franc.
BERN, SWITZERLAND – A few dozen anti-World Economic Forum protesters, a small crowd estimated by one news agency at 100 persons, were stopped by police from four cantons Saturday 21 January in Bern. The group, which did not have a police permit, was protesting against capitalism and the forum, which starts 24 January in Davos, canton Graubuenden. They were detained while police checked their IDs.
The large police turnout was organized after calls for violence went out, according to one police official quoted by Swiss news agency ats.
Electric lights on Christmas trees are safer than candles, especially as the trees begin to dry out (new LED lights use far less electricity)
LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND – Two people, ages 57 and 65, suffered from shock and light burns Wednesday 4 January when their Christmas tree caught fire in their apartment in Bex.
Vaud police did not provide details but say the fire was caused by negligence.
Le Matin (Fr) noted in an article Wednesday that fires are frequently sparked by Christmas trees at the end of the holiday season and this year is no exception: they caused three fires last Thursday alone in three cantons.
A fire linked to candles on a Christmas tree in Grand-Saconnex in Geneva 27 December completely destroyed an apartment and two others in canton Bern Saturday caused several thousand francs in damage, according to the Swiss centre for fire prevention.
St Prex, a Vaud town of 5,100 people, inaugurated its new state-of-the-art recycling centre in 2011, now a busy place
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Batteries over 5kg will be taxed at purchase, rather than when they are recycled, starting 1 January 2012, says Bern. Household and small batteries currently carry a recycling tax, at purchase, but not larger ones, such as car batteries and industrial ones.
The new system is designed to boost the rate of recycling from last year’s 69 percent to at least 80 percent.
The change is also designed to ensure funds for collecting, transporting and recycling batteries, work that the federal government assigns to Inobat, a private organization based in Bern. By law, businesses in Switzerland that sell anything with batteries are obliged to take used batteries from customers; the country has some 11,000 collection points.
Swiss are world champion glass recyclers, some way to go on batteries
Some of the money collected by the revised tax will also be used for consumer education, to increase awareness of the need to recycle batteries and to raise the rate of recycling, 69 percent at 31 December 2010. The federal government has set a goal of 80 percent recycled batteries to preserve Switzerland’s natural resources. The figure is well below those for recycling several other items. The Swiss are world champion glass recyclers, with a 94 percent rate.
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Egyptian and Swiss legal experts met Friday 2 December to “take stock of progress made so far and to strengthen bilateral cooperation” for “an efficient restitution of any assets of illicit origin from the entourage of the former Mubarak regime”, says the Swiss Justice Department.
Switzerland froze about CHF410 million in assets in the name of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and his entourage 11 February 2011.
Egypt has made several requests for mutual legal assistance to Switzerland, related to the assets. Bern says these are being reviewed by Swiss authorities.
The delegations were satisfied with the discussions, according to Bern and will continue with follow-up meetings at regular intervals, with the next one at the end of January 2012.
Vienna comes out number one, Paris is 30 and London 38, Geneva sixth safest
Bern's new bear park on the riverfront; Bern is the world's second safest city in 2011
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Mercer’s list of top cities in the world in terms of quality of living shows three Swiss cities in the top 10 in 2011 and three German cities, but Austria’s Vienna remains in the number one slot.
Zurich is second, Geneva and Bern are eighth and ninth respectively, with Munich and Dusseldorft fourth and fifth and Frankfurt in seventh place.
Completing the top 10: Auckland, New Zealand is third, Vancouver, Canada ties with Dusseldorf for fifth and Copenhagen, Denmark ties with Bern for ninth place.
Personal safety puts Bern and Zurich in world’s top five
The theme of this year’s Mercer report is personal safety as a result of upheavals in many parts of the world and growing concern on the part of companies and organizations about the safety of their employees. “The information and data obtained through the Quality of Living Reports (the “Reports”) are for information purposes only and are intended for use by multi-national organizations and government agencies. They are not designed or intended to use as the basis for foreign investment or tourism,” London-based Mercer notes in publishing its rankings.
Geneva’s media reports of a less safe city at odds with sixth-safest city in the world rank
Tourists snapping iPhone shots of the jet d'eau in Geneva, sixth safest city in the world
The Mercer survey ranks Geneva sixth in terms of personal safety worldwide, a number that will reassure Geneva’s authorities, who were in a for a barrage of media fire earlier in the year for a perceived decline in safety.
Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey, whose home is in Geneva and whose political career as a Socialist Party member was built in the city, said Monday that a joint federal-cantonal commission she pushed for earlier in the year is reviewing safety in the city.
It is currently taking an inventory of the situation, she said, without giving a date for the commission to provide its report.
But the federal government, which contributes CHF50 million directly to support “international Geneva”, is “concerned” about reports that the city is less safe than it used to be, she told journalists at a press conference.
Calmy-Rey is retiring from the federal government this week, but she said Monday she expects to remain active in politics.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to visit Bern 16-17 October
BERN, SWITZERLAND – UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will be received in Bern 17 October by a Swiss delegation led by President Micheline Calmy-Rey, for an official working visit. It is the UN leader’s first official Swiss visit since April 2007.
The agenda covers “a number of UN-related themes of mutual interest,” Bern says in its announcement, in particular setting priorities.
Ban Ki-moon will be in Bern 16 October to attend the inaugural ceremony of the 125th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, IPU, which Switzerland is hosting.
During his visit to Bern he will meet with six youths from different Arab nations, all of whom have been involved in Arab Spring protests.
Zurich, one of three Swiss cities that will benefit from new jobs
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – The QS World University Rankings 2011-2012, published independently since 2010 and considered one of the main global education ranking systems, show EPFL in Lausanne slipping from slot no. 32 to 35, but ETHZ in Zurich holding its no. 18 place, just behind McGill in Canada and ahead of Duke in the US.
EPFL has gone up slightly with Leiden and remained at the same level with the Shanghai rankings in recent years, while since ETHZ has held steady with QS and Shanghai but gone up with Leiden. EPFL offers 20 programmes and ETHZ 44.
Swiss state universities that are given a world ranking: The University of Geneva is ranked 71, Basel University 137, Bern 162, Zurich 101.
The QS system was originally published jointly by universities by Quacquarelli Symonds, a UK-based company, jointly with Times Higher Education (THE), but the two split in 2010 to use different methodologies for determining rankings. The new QS system should not be confused with the older THE-QS World University Rankings.
THE publishes its new rankings in October.
Other major rankings systems, most of which show some national bias: Shanghai Jiao Tong, The CHE Ranking, The Leiden Ranking, CHE EUSID, Newsweek, several Financial Times specialty rankings, and the Karriere Hochschulranking.
The Swiss education department publishes a useful web site in four languages (including English) with a searchable data base of all the rankings for comparative purposes.
Highlights of the new QS rankings include:
- Cambridge is number 1 but close behind are Harvard, MIT, Yale and Oxford for the top five
- The top 10 are all US or UK universities
- Chinese mainland universities are inching up, with two of them, Peking and Tsinghua, in the top 50
Swiss taxes varied considerably from one city to another in 2010
Swiss taxes take a bigger bite in Neuchatel than in Zug
Update 22 July (new files added at end) BERN, SWITZERLAND – That magic moment in the year is here, when Bern tells Swiss taxpayers where they were best off, living or dying, in 2010, so the rest of the holidays can be spent planning a move. There is Zug, for those who are rich and single, or if you are married and have two children and you’re living in Neuchatel, Zug but also Geneva will look very good.
Federal income tax is a small part of the three-tiered tax system, with cantonal taxes usually the largest and communal taxes varying the most widely. Zug retains its champion’s title of the cheapest place in Switzerland from a tax standpoint, while Neuchatel remains one of the most expensive, for individuals.
Sample comparisons culled from the 2010 figures, published 21 July by the Federal tax office:
Single, no children, cantonal, communal and parish (if Catholic) taxes, on income of CHF100,000
Add on CHF2,067 for federal income tax
Zurich: CHF11,637 / 9.64%
Zug: CHF6,148 / 5.08%
Bern: CHF14,982 / 14.98%
Basel: CHF16,472 / 16.47%
Lausanne: CHF16,162 /16.06%
Neuchatel: CHF18,639 / 18.64%
Geneva: CHF15’370 / 15.37%
If you make CHF200,000, tax rates range from Zug’s 9.72% to Neuchatel’s 23.71%.
Married, two children, cantonal, communal and parish (if Catholic) taxes, federal tax not included, on income of CHF100,00, one spouse working
Add on CHF907 for federal income tax
Zurich: CHF6,136 / 6.14%
Zug: CHF6,148 / 5.08%
Bern: CHF8,710 / 8.71%
Basel: CHF7,690 / 7.69%
Lausanne: CHF9,175 /9.18%
Neuchatel: CHF10,054 / 10.05%
Geneva: CHF3,202 / 3.20%
If you make CHF200,000, tax rates range from Zug’s 4.43% to Neuchatel’s 17.91%.
When both spouses work the tax rate tends to be 2-3 percentage points higher, except in Zug, where it is half the rate, and in Geneva, where it is double the rate.
Inheritance taxes: avoid Graubuenden
Swiss inheritance taxes are not collected by several cantons, but Graubuenden has the highest rate and Lausanne is the rare city to collect a communal tax in addition to the cantonal one. It’s better to be a son or daughter inheriting than to inherit from a brother or sister, and beware, nieces and nephews, you’ll have to pay more when your uncle’s lovely chalet passes into your hands.
Swiss tax burden, by canton (Ger/Fre), pdf
Swiss tax burden, comparison, communes, pdf
Protect the sheep from the wolf or the wolf from the man or is there a way to do both, asks Bern
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Bring up hunting and fishing, protecting the environment and the population’s growing use of nature areas, and you can expect passions to rise quickly. This is exactly what the Swiss government found when it put out for public consultation its proposed changes to hunting and fishing laws, the first in 25 years.
The changes, announced in April 2011, would provide wildlife populations with greater protection from human activities, especially leisure use of the outdoors, by creating nature reserve zones.
The new law would provide a number of birds with greater protection, starting with a ban on buckshot with lead to hunt fowl, improved measures to prevent the introduction of non-native animals and longer periods where hunting is not allowed, to protect native species, including carrion crows, jays and magpies. Hunters will be able to go after rooks, on the other hand, because their growing European population is a problem.
Populations and hunting measures for protected animal species, including lynx, wolves and beavers, will be regulated on a regional basis if they are causing too much damage, under the new law—with the stipulation that their populations must be large and stable enough to maintain the diversity of species. Any such measures by cantons must have prior federal government approval.
The consultation period ended 15 July and Bern is now grappling with the thorny problem of how to take into account some 80 strongly voiced and opposing points of view from several organization and individuals, especially over the issue of predatory animals.
Cantonal and federal bodies are mostly in agreement with the proposed changes, according to Detec (the federal department for the environment, energy, transport and communications). Farmers, hunters, fishermen and animal protection groups have come out strongly against specific aspects of the law, but often for diametrically opposed reasons.
Switzerland is home to the Bern Convention, which protects wolves, but the country has also been the scene of an ongoing battle between animal rights groups and farmers, particularly in canton Valais, where the small wolf population has cost farmers by going after herds of sheep.
Source: Napra 2011
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss Federal Nuclear Safety Commission is calling for more information as part of the second stage of a search for deep nuclear waste disposal sites.
In particular it wants to see additional seismic studies, a detailed report on the methodology that will be used to compare potential sites and verification of the technical concepts behind the storage plans as well as optional access plans for the ramp-free storage areas.
The commission is not convinced that even after the additional work is done it will be possible to move on from the second to the third stage of the project and it is calling for an evaluation report at that point.
The second stage of the siting process calls for a clear profile to be drawn up for each of the sites and their suitability. The third stage will involve comparing the sites, to select the most appropriate.
Source: Napra 2011
Six sites were identified in 2008 by Nagra, a national cooperative whose members are the federal government and Switzerland’s five nuclear power plant operators.
The federal Nuclear Energy Inspection office reviewed the reports on the sites and published its conclusions in March 2011, calling for additional assessments, and the next step is the approval of the safety commission.
Nagra has said there is a wealth of detailed information about each site: its geometry, structures, host rock hydrogeological conditions, long-term tectonic development including erosion. The studies are the result of seismic and geophysical studies, drillings, outcrops, tunneling, geological sampling and underground laboratories.
Nagra describes the six sites:
- three potential geological siting regions for high-level waste, with an Opalinus Clay host rock – Zurich Nordost, North of Laegern and Jura Ost – are characterized by a simple and stable underground geological situation. In order to design and construct the repository safely, the host rock requires an extent of at least six square kilometres, with a usable width of at least one and a half kilometres. Each of these three siting regions also comes into question for disposal of low- and intermediate-level waste.
- six proposed siting regions – Suedranden, Zurich Nordost, North of Laegern, Jura Ost, Jura-Suedfuss and Wellenberg – all have clay-rich sediments as a potential host rock. These include the Opalinus Clay, the Brauner Dogger, the Effingen Beds and the marl formations of the Helveticum. In order to design and construct the caverns safely, the host rock requires an extent of at least three square kilometres, with a usable width of at least one kilometre.
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – A 39-year-old German man fell to his death in canton Bern after slipping on wet terrain while hiking. A 61-year-old Valais man was found dead Monday near Orsieres: his body was found in a river where he ended a long downhill slide after trying to walk away from a car accident.
Bern police say the German tourist was walking down with a woman from the Gantrisch, a 2,175-metre summit, at 14:00 Sunday 20 June, when he slipped on a wet path and fell 200 metres. He was critically injured in the fall and died at the scene; his death has been ruled an accident.
Police in canton Valais say they discovered the body of a man in the Dranse riverbed near Orsiere Monday at 11:00. His family had told police earlier in the morning that he was missing. He had spent Sunday evening with friends and while driving home crashed into a tree. He left his car and walked a few metres before slipping on a steep slope, ending his fall in the river. Authorities have opened an investigation to determine the exact cause of death.
Lausanne train station: more to look at, with new animated large ad screens coming Monday
ZURICH, SWITZERLAND – Travellers will find the relatively ads-free train stations in six main Swiss cities visually busier Monday 20 June when large-screen ad boards go up.
The 1.01 x 1.80 metre screens will show silent animated high-definition advertisements, similar to screens already operating in airports.
Geneva, Lausanne, Bern, Basel, Lucerne and Zurich will have a total of 43 boards. The CFF says that 840,000 people pass through the six RailAway stations every day.
Ad sales will be handled by e-advertising, which belongs to SGA (APG in German), Switzerland’s largest “out of home” media advertising company.
The company has a new product that was developed with Coca-Cola and Volkswagen, an interactive billboard, on display at Zurich’s main station until the end of June: the display reacts to the movements of passersby.
Muehleberg peaceful anti-nuclear protest, ©2011 Herbi Ditl on flickr
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss parliament’s lower house Wednesday morning 8 June backed the government’s recommendation to close down the country’s nuclear energy plants, voting two to one in favour of several motions similar to the one sent to parliament by the government.
Nuclear power plants currently provide 39.3 percent of the country’s energy, hydroelectric and dams 55.8 percent (TSR has several charts on Swiss energy).
The vote sends a strong signal to the Swiss upper house, the senate, which will vote on the recommendations after the summer session, but no date has been set. It now appears likely that, in line with Wednesday’s vote, existing power plants will be shut down when their current licenses to operate come to an end, by 2034, and that no new plants will be approved.
BERN, SWITZERLAND – Switzerland 6 June saw CHF1.5 million returned to it, money that had been put into an account blocked in and overseen by Germany, as the result of an agreement between the Swiss government and the Qaddafi regime in Libya. Switzerland has been holding discussions with Germany for some weeks about returning the money: Bern has spent more than CHF3 million in aid to Libyan citizens since the outbreak of the conflict in their country in February 2011, the Swiss Federal Council said Wednesday morning 8 June.
The CHF1.5m was paid by Switzerland after an investigation in Geneva into a leaked photo failed to turn up the culprit who gave the document to the Tribune de Geneve in the summer of 2008. The newspaper published the photo of Hannibal Qaddafi after he was arrested at Geneva’s five-star President Wilson hotel, for attacking one of his employees.
Libya then filed a formal complaint.
“Switzerland agreed to pay compensation to cover the cost of the proceedings and legal fees, in the event that the competent Geneva authorities were unable to find and punish the guilty party or parties,” Bern notes. “This agreement was the condition for the release in June 2010 of Swiss citizen Max Goeldi, who was being detained in Libya.”
Ayat Suliman’s brother brought an unexploded cluster munition into their house in Samarra, Iraq. The munition exploded and caused burns to form over 65% of Ayat’s body. In Iraq, the United States used at least 1,206 clusters, containing more than 200,000 submunitions; this number represents 4 percent of the total number of air-delivered weapons used by the Coalition (text, image: Magnus Fröderberg for Cluster Munitions Coalition)
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss government Monday 6 June agreed, as expected, to ratify the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). It signed the treaty in Dublin in 2008, along with 106 other countries, but needed to take the convention through several stages before ratification.
A key step was the revision of Switzerland’s war material act of 1996 to add penal provisions. “This act will be complemented by a ban on cluster munitions,” the Swiss Federal Council said in a statement.
“There will also be a ban on the financing of prohibited war material. Such material already includes nuclear weapons, biological and capital weapons and antipersonnel mines. Now cluster munitions will be added to the list.”
Ratification would force banks to completely dis-invest in cluster munitions companies
The move comes 10 days after a report issued by Handicap International drew attention to what it called the “Hall of Shame” of banks that invest in companies which produce cluster munitions. The two large Swiss banks, UBS and Credit Suisse, figured on the list, along with 14 other Swiss financial institutions. Both vehemently denied that they finance cluster munitions, pointing out that many of the investments listed were made before they tightened their policies in 2010 to avoid future investments in the large conglomerates which are often behind the manufacturers.
The report says, based on publicly available information, that 166 financial institutions in 15 countries have financial interests in eight companies that produce cluster munitions.
Handicap International says progress has been made in the financing area, but far more needs to be done.
Switzerland spends CHF16 billion a year on demining
BERN, SWITZERLAND – A 39-year-old police officer was killed on duty when a tenant who was being evicted shot and killed him at 08:00 Tuesday morning 24 May in Schafhausen im Emmental. Police said late Tuesday that a private letter had been sent to an employee of the bankruptcy and receivership office warning of a “possible reaction” by the gunman should he be evicted.
The 35-year-old man who was being evicted had refused to answer the police summons and two police officers then attempted to open the door, at which point the man shot both of them.
The second police officer, age 29, was shot in the arm, but managed to call for reinforcements. A nearby patrol responded immediately and caught the gunman outside his apartment building. The second officer was treated and released from hospital. The officer who died was hit by bullets in the stomach and despite emergency treatment he died at the scene of the crime.
The tenant, who was being evicted for being behind on his rent, is in custody and a homicide investigation has been opened. He is known to police for several incidents involving his refusal to listen to authorities, say Bern police, but he has not previously committed violent acts.
The police team was accompanied by an employee of the cantonal bankruptcy and receivership office.
The investigative team of 30 is checking to see who at the bankruptcy office was intended to be the recipient of the letter.
Former ICRC head Cornelio Sommaruga (1987-99) with Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey, guests of the Foreign Press Association in Geneva (photo: ©2011 Song Bin)
Update 24 May GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – The caution that often typifies Swiss politicians’ speech disappeared for a moment Friday night when Swiss President Micheline Calmy-Rey, asked if Switzerland would like to become a member of the European Union, said bluntly and for the first time, according to local journalists, “I have to say no; the majority is not in favour of it.”
The Swiss voted against joining the EU in 1992, but the two have grown closer in the past 20 years, mainly through a web of more than 120 bilateral agreements.
Ed.note: The Swiss “Security report 2011″ published 24 May confirms the president’s point, showing only 19 percent of Swiss backed the idea of joining the EU, in 2011.
EU, Swiss grow closer, want simpler system for agreements, but Swiss will remain outside group
She was fielding questions 20 May during the annual presidential dinner hosted in Geneva by the Foreign Press Association. She had touched on the growing ties between Switzerland and the EU when the question came up.
“Issues are dealt with through bilateral channels”, she noted, without referring directly to 2010 tensions, when EU leaders called for a review of the situation, saying the hefty number of bilateral agreements was becoming unwieldy, just as Switzerland was asking for a third round of negotiations to begin.
“Swiss laws are influenced by EU laws. And the EU says we must take into consideration future European law; we’re discussing it.” Calmy-Rey’s remark Friday night appeared to confirm comments made in February by European Commission President José Manuel Barroso after he met with her. Barroso said at the time that they agreed the system needs to be streamlined, simplified.
Swiss regulations increasingly in line with European
Swiss President Calmy-Rey with EC President José Barroso, February 2011
Switzerland is increasingly adapting regulations and laws to match European-wide ones. Bern announced Friday that importing cars from the EU is likely to become easier soon, for example, with Switzerland preparing to accept European certificates of road-worthiness. It plans to adopt EU standards for fixed child seats and dusk lights on new cars.
Sticky tax issues could have solution “soon”
Asked to elaborate on comments made Thursday in Bern about tax discussions with Britain and Germany, she said “We hope to have solutions soon.”
Calmy-Rey, who is also Switzerland’s foreign minister, met this week with Germany’s foreign minister Guido Westerwelle. Thursday, after their working meetings, she said that “with the withholding tax model, a constructive solution has been found that protects the interests of both sides” and that they hope to finalize an agreement before the summer parliamentary breaks.
Germany and other European countries, notably France and the UK, are seeking ways to collect tax from their citizens’ holdings in Switzerland.
The tax arguments also include accusations by Switzerland’s neighbours that some cantons are offering tax deals to foreigners that smack of illegal subsidies.
IMF job not likely to go to a Swiss
The president laughed at what she called the expected question when the director’s job at the IMF (International Monetary Fund) was mentioned, saying that Switzerland is “realistic enough” to know its chances of putting its candidate in the job are slim.
Calmy-Rey told the group of journalists she is not unhappy with coverage of Switzerland by foreign media, but she wishes that in addition to chocolate and cows they would write more about innovation and research in Switzerland, two areas where the country excels.
BERN, SWITZERLAND – The Swiss federal Telecommunications office says it began 11 May accepting bills sent electonically by its suppliers. It is the first federal government office to do so and has put in place a central clearing system that will send the bills on to the correct department within 24 hours.
Bern says the new payment system will gradually be shared by other federal offices, with the entire federal government accepting but also creating electronic bills by the end of 2012.
Gunter Sachs and Brigitte Bardot in St Moritz, Switzerland
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Gunter Sachs, who inherited German wealth, adopted celebrity friends and developed into a world-class photographer and filmmaker, has died, age 78, in Gstaad, Switzerland. He was best known for a playboy lifestyle and his three-year marriage to French film star Brigitte Bardot, from 1966-69.
He was also a wealthy philanthropist in his later years and his foundation was one of the first to confirm the news of his death, according to French daily Liberation. Some of his wealth came from his grandfather Adam Opel, founder of the automobile company of the same name.
His family released a statement Sunday, at his request, saying that he took his own life. German media report that he shot himself at his home in Gstaad, a decision he took because he was suffering from a debilitating and incurable degenerative disease, information not confirmed by the family.
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The judicial commission of the upper house of the Swiss Parliament Friday called for tough new rules on genital mutilation to become part of the Swiss penal code. The greatest change would be to the location where the mutilation is carried out: current law limits this to Switzerland, but the new law, if it makes it through the parliamentary system, would allow charges to be pressed against anyone who is on Swiss territory and who has encouraged or carried out the practice, even outside Switzerland.
The modified law would close a loophole that has brought several cases into Swiss headlines in recent years, with children either mutilated in Switzerland or taken to their parents’ homeland to have it done, even though the children are growing up in Switzerland, where the practice is illegal. The parents are generally from a culture where genital mutilation is considered acceptable and they are often not well integrated into Switzerland themselves.
The commission argues that a change in the law would make it easier to bring charges against these human rights violations because it would eliminate current courtroom debates over definitions and proof.
Swiss cities, Geneva included, are home to enormous wealth, not all of it legitimate
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – For the first time since Switzerland set up its Money Laundering Reporting Office (MROS) in 2002, the number of “suspicious activity reports” (Sars) passed 1,000 in a year. The Swiss Federal Police office reports 28 April that in 2010 the total number of Sars was 1,159, a 29 percent increase over 2009.
FATF assessments of Swiss action on money laundering
Switzerland has been tightening its money laundering laws and stepping up preventive measures since the late 1990s, with a review in October 2009 by the inter-governmental Financial Action Task Force (FATF) showing good progess made since a 2005 review pointed out a number of weak spots.
Switzerland was accepted in 2009 into the FATF system of regular two year reviews, with the next one set for October 2011. It was commended on several points, including its improvements in the system to quickly identify assets of politically exposed persons, mainly dictators.
Switzerland has been particularly sensitive on this score, and in early 2011 was quick to freeze assets of people linked to Egyptian, Tunisian and Libyan regimes.
Weaknesses that were pointed out by FATF in 2009 included extending to a larger group the obligation to submit Sars: lawyers, insurance agents, real estate dealers among others.
One of Switzerland’s biggest problems, the task force said, is clearly identifying real owners when property is purchased or insurance contracts bought, with a third party acting for the owner.
Terrorism money laundering “more or less the same” in 2010 as in 2009
Terrorist financing was shown in only four cases, the new federal police reports indicates, although the number of Sars linked to terrorism jumped from 7 submissions in 2009 to 13 in 2010. Ten of these were forwarded by the MROS to the Swiss attorney general’s office, but six “had no hard evidence of terrorist financing”, the federal police say.
One complex case accounted for eight of the Sars and one case alone involved CHF19 million of the CHF23m total assets for the 13 Sars submitted. All in all, “the situation in 2010 remained more or less the same as in the previous year.”
Financial institutions reported 71% of cases
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Barely a whiff of the scandal has reached Switzerland, but it’s top of the news in India this week, and UK media have been following it with interest: the former head of the Commonwealth Games in Delhi (CWG) in October 2010, Suresh Kalmadi, was arrested Monday 25 April and appeared in court Tuesday, charged, according to India’s Central Bureau of Investigation with “conspiracy to cause favour to a private firm based in Switzerland in awarding the contract for Timing, Scoring & Result system at an inflated cost of Rs. 141 crore [ed. note: CHF27.7 million].
Kalmadi is the third top official to be arrested since March in connection with the investigation.
A lawyer was arrested for throwing a slipper at Kalmadi as he arrived at court Tuesday.
Wednesday, Indian media report that the Indian Olympic Association have replaced him as president (the IOC in Lausanne has not yet confirmed the information).
The company in question, while not named by the court, is clearly Swiss Timing, based in Corgémont, canton Bern, which is owned by the Swatch Group. The scandal has been whipped up by the Indian press for months, but reached a new peak this week, implying in passing that Swiss Timing might be accused of wrongdoing, and even the Associated Press expressed confusion, saying in reports published Tuesday that “it was not immediately clear if Swiss Timing was also accused of alleged wrongdoing.” The sentence was later dropped from updates, but the older version is still available from several of AP’s client news outlets.
Swatch Group, in a press release issued 26 April, vehemently denies the Indian media reports and clarifies the financial situation, which has been the source of much confusion in the Indian press.
The CWG were pursued by charges of corruption months before the Games took place:
Swatch Group vehemently denies Indian media rumours
Beatrice Howald, press spokesperson for Swatch, told GenevaLunch Wednesday that the company has not been contacted or accused by Indian authorities of any illegal activities, nor has it been able to obtain any information in response to its efforts to determine if there were problems with the contract bid process.
“Swiss Timing would have had nothing to gain by this,” she points out, qualifying the company’s reputation in the field of sports events timing as “excellent”.
Swiss Timing was responsible for timing and scoring at the Games. A second company, India-based Gem International, may have been involved in obtaining the contract, but the process now under investigation by a court in Delhi, appears murky.
Swiss Timing has long history of timing top world sports events
Swiss Timing is one of the world’s top sports events timekeepers:
Muehleberg peaceful anti-nuclear protest (©2011 Herbi Ditl, flickr.com/photos/herbivore)
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Swiss anti-nuclear groups are continuing to call for an end to nuclear power plants, with the latest in a series of peaceful protests taking place Tuesday 26 April at Muehleberg.
An estimated 500 people formed a human chain around the centre from 07:00 to 08:30, but workers were allowed to enter the plant.
A human chain around BKW, which owns the Muehleberg nuclear power plant in Switzerland, 26 April (©2011 Herbi Ditl, flickr.com/photos/herbivore)
The protest was supported by the Socialist and Green political parties, as well as several groups, including Greenpeace. It marked the day 25 years ago when Chernobyl became the world’s worst nuclear accident, with an explosion and fire at the power plant in Ukraine that spread radioactivity across much of Europe.
The Bernese power station received a vote of confidence from citizens in February, who agreed to plans to rebuild the aging plant, but after Japan’s post-earthquake Fukushima nuclear problems Switzerland’s energy minister, Doris Leuthard, called a temporary halt to all nuclear power plant construction.
The groups protesting in Bern have set up a camp in front of the offices of BKW, which owns Muehleberg, and say they will stay there until the plant is closed down. The city of Bern is currently tolerating their presence.
Ed. note: Herbi Ditl on flickr has a collection of photos of the camp as well as protests
Search between Saint Prex and Morges will continue Friday
Police step up investigation into father’s presence in the area 30 January, seek new witnesses to black A6 Audi
Matthias Schepp was driving an Audi A6 Avant, similar to this one, the day the girls disappeared
Police are asking for witnesses who may have seen an Audi like this 30 January, with Matthias Schepp, near Morges
Geneva / Lausanne, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - A massive new effort poured into the hunt for missing six-year-olds, Alessia and Livia Schepp, failed to turn up anything Thursday, despite high-tech equipment used to comb the search area and 13 specially trained dogs and their handlers from three countries, working with a team of 140 persons.
Vaud police organized the search, using 11 dogs that are trained particularly to hunt for bodies, after a man provided new, reliable information in early April that he had seen a man dragging a suitcase in the Boiron beach area about 16:00 Sunday 30 January. The information fit some of the “technical” aspects of the case already in police hands.
The beach, which straddles the boundary between Tolochenaz and Saint Prex, to the west of Morges, has long been a popular gay and nudist beach, but since police began to enforce a CHF500 fine ordinance for nudism the beach has become quieter, and in winter there are few people.
Boiron beach, roped off, with police guard: a lonely stretch of Lake Geneva shore (click on image to view larger)
The area was blocked off on land Thursday, as was the water around the beach, to allow the search to move ahead. Police used a a multibeam swath bathymetry system to sound the river and lake area where the river enters Lake Geneva, as well as an underwater remote-operated vehicle to check the area around the mouth of the river. Dog teams went over the beach area, carrying out a “ minutieuse” search after two St Hubert dogs from the Lausanne municipal police checked and failed to find any traces of Matthias Schepp, the father, in the area.
The Vaud police criminal investigation unit Thursday began new inquiries in the nearby area, looking for possible witnesses – at local dumps, professional fishermen, animal protection and fish protection authorities, rifle practice stands, etc. – who are often in the area or in areas close to the one being searched.
They are asking that anyone who might have information of interest contact the criminal investigation team at +41 21 644 8888. In particular, they would like to talk to anyone who might have seen the father of the twins and his car, a black Audi A6 Avant, in or near Morges, Sunday 30 January.
The police press release notes that:
“The team involved in roping off the area and in the search itself comprised: 55 men from the police in canton Vaud (gendarmes, inspectors and Lake Brigade specialists), 70 colleagues from the Vaud Civil Protection unit, 2 Canton Geneva Police Lake Brigade specialists, 11 dog handlers with 13 dogs from: the Austrian Police Dog unit with 6 men and 6 dogs (Diensthundewesen der Bundespolizei Oesterreich), the national dog tracking investigation unit from the French Gendarmerie in Gramat (2 men, 3 dogs), the Bern police (1 man with his dog) and Canton Zurich Police (1 man with his dog), as well as the Lausanne municipal police (1 man and 2 dogs), in addition to 2 police officers from the Morges commune police and 2 firefighters from the SPSL with a boat.”
Police boat guards the water near spot where Boiron empties into Lake Geneva, with Morges and west Lausanne in the background; St Sulpice, where the girls lived, is off to the right,further along the lake
International meeting ends without further decisions on aiding Libyan rebels
Qaddafi forces push back rebels
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The Swiss Federal Council Wednesday 30 March formally adopted the UN Security Council’s measures against Libya, taken 26 February, as well as the European Union’s decisions concerning Libya, 28 February and including EU complementary actions. The move by the Swiss cabinet Wednesday cancels Switzerland’s own moves 21 February to unilaterally block funds that may belond to the Libyan leader and those close to him.
The EU’s decisions in particular duplicate Switzerland’s own actions in the financial area: the EU has voted to forbid supplying any materials that could be used for internal repression in Libya, and the list of people affected by financial sanctions and travel restrictions has been lengthened, from Switzerland’s original list.
The move by Bern also brings to a halt criticism from some corners that Switzerland acted too soon and alone in blocking Qaddafi assets.
Switzerland: IMF checks economic winds in 2011
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The IMF (International Monetary Fund) in its annual country report on Switzerland says the economy is broad-based in the aftermath of the global economic crisis. It is forecasting 2.1 percent growth for 2011 and 1.8 percent in 2012, when it expects exports to fall.
“Domestic demand is benefiting from low interest rates, increased employment and continuing immigration. In spite of the strength of the Swiss franc, exports have grown due to increased global demand.” Geopolitical tensions could have a negative impact and are the biggest risk factor, agreed the IMF team, who visited Switzerland from 18 to 28 March. Tensions in the euro zone could also spark difficulties.
The SNB (Swiss National Bank) could consider tightening monetary policy, the IMF group says, with rebuilding its capital a priority. The central bank’s capital was drained during the crisis, as were those of many governments. Future dividends to the cantons and the Confederation should be made subject to the ability of the SNB to replenish its capital.
The heaviest criticism was reserved for the banking regulatory system, which needs further work, according to the IMF. The Federal Department of Finance will create a working group to follow up one issue: the mandates of the SNB and Finma, the financial supervisory body, should be clarified, according to the IMF.
Additional capital requirements provided for in the Federal Council’s “too big to fail” consultation draft will be instrumental in limiting the risks posed by systemically important banks. Consequently, the IMF experts warn against allowing overly generous “rebate” possibilities. Switzerland’s new capital requirements are among the most stringent in the world, going well beyond bank capital requirements that are part of the new, global BIS (Bank for International Settlements) Basel agreement.
In the mortgage market, the IMF sees a certain degree of easing in financial institutions’ lending standards, says Bern. “The interest-rate sensitivity of banks’ balance sheets has increased due to the tendency towards fixed-rate mortgages with long maturities” and the IMF is in favour of “implementing more conservative affordability standards”, which could be bad news for new home owner wannabes.
The IMF has given its support to several ongoing improvements:
- “The neutral fiscal position to be expected over the next few years is considered appropriate” says Bern’s statement on the IMF visit
- the measures to restructure disability insurance must continue
- the IMF welcomes the ongoing efforts to strengthen financial planning and statistics.
Seat of Swiss federal government in Bern
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The neutral Swiss had a very rare glimpse of a foreign military power on home territory Monday 21 March, as 20 British military vehicles, escorted by the Swiss army, crossed the country from Basel to Chiasso in canton Ticino.
The passage, details and the path of which were not divulged by the federal government, would only have appeared remarkable to those who spotted the soldiers because of the type and markings of the vehicles: Swiss military vehicles and soldiers from the citizen militia are a common sight in Switzerland.
The British government requested the right of passage of aeronautic equipment as part of its commitment to prevent the Qaddafi regime in Libya from using force against the civilian population there.
Waving less bravely
Bern and Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – US State Department figures for 2010 confirm what many Americans who are long-term residents in other countries have suspected: the number of US citizens giving up their citizenship is on the rise. The figure was 1,485 according to renunciationguide.com, but Bloomberg lists 1,534. In both cases, the 2010 figure appears to be about double that for any year since 2003.
Renunciationguide.com, a site maintained by and for people considering giving up US citizenship, points out a number of errors in the figures and notes that clear records are not published, and that it is safe to assume the figures are higher based on inter-agency discrepancies.
The US began, in 1996, publishing in The Federal Register the names of those who renounce, and from this readers calculate the numbers.
The figures reflect completed requests, not demands and there are long waiting periods at some embassies, with Bern, for example, taking appointments for August 2012.
The number of people rose despite an administrative fee of $450 imposed in July 2010. Renouncing citizenship had previously been free of charge.
“The UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights recognizes the right to leave one’s country and to change one’s nationality, but it’s not US law,” notes renunciationguide.com.
New passport remark links passport applications to the IRS for first time
The line may grow longer, as embassies begin to provide new forms published in December 2010 for renewing US passports, which state clearly for the first time, as part of the Privacy Act information, that data will be provided (italics GenevaLunch) to the US treasury, where the IRS tax office is housed:
“Your Social Security Number will be provided to Treasury, used in connection with debt collection and checked against lists of persons ineligible or potentially ineligible to receive a US passport, among other unauthorized uses.” (2008 form, identified by the DS-82 and 02-2008 in the lower left corner, still on some US embassy web sites, and the new 2010 form)
Click on image to view larger and compare the Privacy Act Statements
The same is true for new passport applications: DS-11 from 2008 and from 2010.
The new forms include several other changes and should be read carefully by anyone applying for or renewing a US passport.
The US goverenment does not allow its citizens to renounce citizenship to avoid paying taxes, but people with dual citizenship may find the passport change to be a deciding factor in keeping just the other nationality.
US citizens with assets and income above a certain level have long been considered to give up their citizenship for tax purposes whether or not they have other reasons, as a 1998 Senate Finance Committee report stated, and the law has not changed (ed.note: figures are from 1998):
“Any individual with a net worth of $500,000 or more (adjusted for inflation) on the date of expatriation or who has an average annual net income tax liability for the five years preceding expatriation of $100,000 or more (adjusted for inflation) is irrebuttably presumed to have expatriated for tax-motivated reasons . . . and thereby is subject to tax under section 877 regardless of actual intent. All expatriates are required under the Code to provide upon expatriation a statement indicating residence and citizenship. In the case of expatriates with gross assets having an aggregate fair market value in excess of $500,000, a detailed statement of assets and liabilities is also required.”
The law has eased somewhat, however, and in 2008 a requirement was dropped that obliged wealthy former citizens to file US tax forms for 10 years after giving up citizenship, Bloomberg points out in an article on the growing number of people giving up their citizenship.
Tax compliance and long waits slowing down renunciation process
For those who want to join the line to “renounce” citizenship, as Washington labels the process, an added complication is proof that a person is “compliant” where US taxes are concerned. The issue for these people is rarely fraud, but the complexity and cost of becoming compliant.
Non-compliance may be due simply to the fact that “It’s a daunting and complex task to file a ‘resident’ US tax return, and non-residents have to further complete a foreign tax credit computation and filing. Also, some of the common software tools like Turbo Tax haven’t allowed users to file electronically with a foreign address. Finally, most people have already had to file taxes once in another country, so it’s double the work,” says Gregory Dean of US Tax in Geneva.
A translator in Paris explained to GenevaLunch why he did not file US taxes for the first 20 years of his adult life.
Third avalanche death this week: woman died Thursday in Bern
Update 14 March Geneva and Zermatt, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – A 57-year-old man from Solothurn died Sunday night 13 March in hospital, the second of two skiers to die from an avalanche near Zermatt Saturday. A 50-year-old man, also from Solothurn, died Saturday shortly after the accident. He was part of a group of 10 people from the Solothurn Swiss Alpine Club who were ski-touring in the Triftjigletscher area near Zermatt when they were caught by an avalanche.
The accident occurred at 17:45 Saturday 12 March.
Three members of the group were carried away by the avalanche, one of whom was dug out by the others. Air Zermatt and canton Valais police sent a rescue team, and the two missing skiers were pulled out and given medical treatment immediately. They were then flown to hospitals in Viege/Visp and Bern, but one of them died en route to hospital.
Skier triggers snow slab break
A 45-year-old woman from canton Bern died Thursday 10 March when she was caught by an avalanche. She and a male companion, both very experienced ski tourers, according to cantonal police, were coming down the Sulegg, heading towards Saxeten, when they decided to cross a slope. She went first and provoked a snow slab to break off. She was carried several hundred metres to her death. Her companion immediately alerted police. He was taken from the area by helicopter.
The woman’s body was found by the rescue team.
