MPs: Tax must be included in determining minimum subsistence

Current Swiss legislation does not allow cantons to include the tax burden into the calculation of the minimum subsistence level — that is, the income necessary for an individual to survive.

On Wednesday, however, the Council of States unanimously accepted a committee motion, which tasks the Federal Council with preparing a draft revision of the federal law on debt and bankruptcy.

If taxes are not taken into account as an expense, low-income individuals will not have the money needed to pay taxes, deputies argued.

This, in turn, will lead to debt and all the consequences thereof.

The National Council will weigh in on this motion as well. If accepted, MPs in both chambers of the parliament will insist that the Federal Council acts as quickly as possible to create a draft revision. 
 
READ ALSO: What happens if you don’t pay your Swiss taxes? 

Zurich University bows out of international ranking

The University of Zurich (UZH) is withdrawing from the well-known university rankings of the specialist magazine “Times Higher Education” (THE), the institution announced on Wednesday .

The reason for this move is that “rankings generally focus on measurable output, which can have unintended consequences, leading universities to concentrate on increasing the number of publications instead of improving the quality of their content.”

“As a result of these conflicting approaches, UZH has decided it will no longer provide data for the ‘THE’ ranking,” the university added.

Demand for freelance and temporary employees is on the rise in Switzerland

Amid continued labour market shortages, the demand for freelance jobs has grown by 23 percent between January and February, outstripping all other types of employment, according to PageGroup recruitment company.

As for temporary employment opportunities, they increased by 8 percent during this period.

The reason for this trend is that “heightened economic and geopolitical risks have made employers and candidates more cautious,” according to Yannick Coulange, managing director of PageGroup Switzerland.

“Freelance and interim employment contracts are seen as a way to help manage business risks. As a result, we are seeing a significant increase in most forms of non-permanent work.”

Water temperature in Lake Geneva is highest ever

For years, the lake, known locally as Lac Léman, has been falling victim of global warming — its water had reached a record-high temperature of 13.6 C in 2022, according to a recent report by the International Commission for the Protection of the Waters of Lake Geneva (CIPEL). 

While this may be good news for swimmers, such a drastic temperature hike is damaging the lake’s delicate ecosystem, with some species of fish and other marine life disappearing as a result. 

In view of this alarming deterioration of western Europe’s largest lake, CIPEL is committed to strengthening “the implementation of effective conservation measures for Lake Geneva,” the organisation said.

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