VAT 8%

2016-07-25T09:51:51+02:00

In Switzerland the VAT (Value Added Tax – or MWSt – Mehrwertsteuer) is set at 8% for most articles. Basic foods and medication are only taxed 2.5%.

This is an indirect tax on all services and products purchased within Switzerland. The state gets about a third of its income through the VAT.

Companies offering services or products within Switzerland with less than a CHF 100’000 revenue may be exempt from having to charge their customers the VAT.

The VAT of 8% in Switzerland is quite low in comparison with Germany 19%, France 20%, Italy 22%, Austria 20%, UK 20% and Sweden 25% etc.

Visitors from China who buy expensive watches in Switzerland are probably best advised to pay the VAT in Switzerland because at home the China Sales tax is 17%.

Switzerland is quite an expensive country. Salaries are very high. That is a main reason why services are expensive in comparison with Europe or the rest of the world.

For Swiss residents it is tempting to shop across the borders. Services and goods are a better deal than at home. When crossing the border the Swiss residents can additionally apply for a tax return.

VAT 8%2016-07-25T09:51:51+02:00

Zakhar Bron Academy Prodigies

2016-08-15T15:29:49+02:00

Recently we were treated to a concert by a few students of the Zakhar Bron Academy in Interlaken. We were blown away by the young soloists playing at a level beyond belief!

Professor Zakhar Bron has a Russian background and is a master violinist. He has won prizes at the world’s most prestigious competitions including the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels and the Henryk Wieniawski Violin Competition in Poznan.

The gentleman is a very active retiree. About a 100 days a year he lives in Interlaken, where he teaches master classes to young people with an outstanding talent. Professor Bron is able to individually coach the best out of his students, who travel from all over the world to Interlaken to be taught by him for a week or two. When Professor Bron isn’t residing in Interlaken he travels the world teaching, playing music and looking out for young prodigies!

In the concert we attended the youngest violin soloist was a girl, barely 10 years old, with a British and Chinese background. She played the very demanding Tschaikowski’s Souvenir d’un lieu, op 42.

Elli Choi from Korea, Eleanor D’Melon from Jamaika and Elvin Ganiyew from Turkey and Azerbaijan and a few other extremely promising young people performed as well. We, the listeners were were just stunned by the skills and the ease with which these young people played extremely difficult, demanding and beautiful classical music.

When Professor Bron teaches in Interlaken his master classes are open to the public. Check the net for a classical treat in Interlaken or find out, when he is near you.

Zakhar Bron Academy Prodigies2016-08-15T15:29:49+02:00

The City of Neuchâtel

2016-07-12T17:32:45+02:00

Neuchâtel is a delightful and noble city with the charm of the french speaking culture of Switzerland. It is sitting on the shore of the lake of Neuchâtel and goes up on Jura rising behind the lake. The typical yellow stone facades stand in stark contrast to the blue sky and the blue water of the lake. Along the shore of the lake many vineyards dot the countryside and add to the beauty of the area.

Neuchâtel is the capital of the canton of Neuchâtel and has a population including the agglomeration of less than 80’000 people.

The first written record dates back to 1011 where Rudolph III, king of Burgundy (F) made the Novum Castellum (or the new castle – Neuchâtel) a gift to his wife Irmengarde. The city kept slowly growing and expanding over the next centuries. Some of  the rich nobility started building houses outside of the city walls. Part of their money also was made with the flourishing slave trade.

Before the 19th century the river Seyon often flooded parts of the city. Between 1839 and 1843 the river got canalized and on top of it the Rue du Seyon came into being. 1859 the train station was built. Also the shore of the lake got reshaped land was regained and built on.

Since 1910 Neuchâtel has its own university. It has a good college of commerce (Ecole Superiore de Neuchâtel) where also quite a few of the better off families from the Swiss German part send their kids to college for higher education in French.

Culturally Neuchâtel has quite a few things to offer: Every September after the vine harvest „la Fête des Vendanges“ is celebrated and attracts 100’000 visitors. Beginning of June a four days open air festival (pop, rock, hiphop and electro) attracts quite a crowd.

Neuchâtel is only about a 40’ car drive or train ride from Berne.

The City of Neuchâtel2016-07-12T17:32:45+02:00

BREXIT

2017-08-03T12:14:27+02:00

The British Embassy in Bern with the flags of Great Britain and the EU.

On June 24 the official result of the vote was out early in the morning: the UK is going to leave the EU (European Union)! Shockwaves rocked the markets. Fortunes were erased. Nobody had anticipated that this would happen. Everybody thought that by a small margin the UK would opt to stay. It seems that even Boris Johnson, who as a lead figure for leaving the EU, was taken by surprise. He then soon announced that he would not want to be a candidate for the job of the next prime minister.

Great Britain is quite divided over the issue. Greater London was clearly for staying in the EU. Scotland and North Ireland also wanted to stay and might now possibly leave the UK to reapply as new members of the EU. At the moment the consequences of the Brexit no one is really able to fully anticipate and it will take years to sort it all out.

Switzerland is working closely with the EU but is also not a member of the EU. It is feared that some of our important negation points with the EU are now put on the back burner as the EU has more pressing matters to attend to.

In crisis moments many investors opt for the stable Swiss Franc. The Swiss National Bank (SNB) is buying heaps of € in order to keep the Swiss Franc from rising and hurting our export industry. Switzerland also hopes that big UK companies will move their seat to Switzerland.

Another unexpected Brexit happened last week when during the Euro Soccer Cup the prestigious English team lost the eighth finals on June 27 to Iceland (1-2), a nation of just a few hundred thousand heads!

BREXIT2017-08-03T12:14:27+02:00
Go to Top