Today in Switzerland: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday
New rules for cross-border workers, Geneva drivers worst in Switzerland for the number of accidents, and other news in our Wednesday roundup. Agreement on telework for cross-border workers from France has been reached
Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, teleworking cross-border commuters from France have benefited from a special, favourable tax arrangement under which they paid taxes in Switzerland.
The transitional solutions created during the confinements expire on December 31st. From January, new rules, permanent this time, will be in force.
Swiss and French officials have now agreed on a home-working rate of 40 percent at most, with an annual limit of 90 days carried out at French homes by employees of Swiss companies.
Switzerland will pay a tax to France when a worker has performed more than 40 days of home office.
It is not yet clear how the days spent working at home will be counted.
READ MORE: EXPLAINED: What cross-border workers should know about taxation in Switzerland
Geneva tops the ranking of alcohol-related road accidents — again
Geneva remains the canton with the most serious car accidents per 10,000 inhabitants, according to data released by Touring Club Suisse (TCS) motoring organisation on Tuesday.
In all, 3,815 alcohol-related accidents took place on Swiss roads in 2021, 57 more than the previous year. Of this number, 364 caused serious injuries or deaths.
With 0.95 accidents per 10,000 inhabitants, Geneva is at the top of the rankings, as it has been for the past five years.
Next is Zug (0.92), Jura (0.68), Valais (0.60) and Uri (0.54).
The accident rate also increased in the cantons of Vaud, Bern, Neuchâtel, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Zurich. The national average is 0.42.
Revealed: Switzerland’s “Best Tourism Villages”
If you are looking for new places to visit, know this: Andermatt in canton Uri and Morat / Murten in Fribourg have been named among the world’s "Best Tourism Villages" by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
A total of 136 villages around the world were considered; from these, 32 were recognised as Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO — the two Swiss locations among them.
Tourist villages, according to UNWTO, are the ones which value traditional activities such as agriculture and forestry, and which are committed to promoting and preserving their cultural heritage.
Andermatt and Morat convinced the jurors “with their strong orientation towards sustainable development, their proximity to agricultural activities and the local added value that tourism brings to their region.”
Of course, Switzerland has other breathtaking villages as well:
Switzerland's ten most beautiful villages you have to visit
Oops, Switzerland finances a German sports club — by mistake
This is what happens when you don’t know geography: for four years, from 2018 to 2021, the Swiss government had offered financial support totaling 60,000 francs to a sports organisation in Büsingen, Germany.
According to media reports on Tuesday, the Federal Office of Sport (FOSPO), had provided grants meant to promote youth sports programmes in Switzerland to the wrong country: apparently, “federal officials thought that Büsingen was a Swiss municipality.”
Had they looked at the map, they would have known the city is located in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany which, in their defence, is located very close to Switzerland.
In November, however, “FOSPO noticed that Büsingen actually belonged to Germany,” the Schaffhauser Nachrichten newspaper, which “broke” the story, reported.
The office sent a letter to the sports clubs concerned, telling them that as their headquarters are on German territory, they would no longer be entitled to financial support from Switzerland.
This is not the first time the Swiss showed poor knowledge of geography:
Swiss history: How the army attacked Liechtenstein three times — by mistake
Welcome to winter, everyone!
You may have been dreaming of this day during last summer’s oppressive heatwave, and now it is here: December 21st, the official beginning of the winter season, also known as the winter solstice.
The actual moment that autumn will give way to winter will be at 10:48 pm.
You probably won’t notice (unless you really pay attention to such things ), but today will be the shortest day of the year, followed by the longest night.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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Agreement on telework for cross-border workers from France has been reached
Since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, teleworking cross-border commuters from France have benefited from a special, favourable tax arrangement under which they paid taxes in Switzerland.
The transitional solutions created during the confinements expire on December 31st. From January, new rules, permanent this time, will be in force.
Swiss and French officials have now agreed on a home-working rate of 40 percent at most, with an annual limit of 90 days carried out at French homes by employees of Swiss companies.
Switzerland will pay a tax to France when a worker has performed more than 40 days of home office.
It is not yet clear how the days spent working at home will be counted.
READ MORE: EXPLAINED: What cross-border workers should know about taxation in Switzerland
Geneva tops the ranking of alcohol-related road accidents — again
Geneva remains the canton with the most serious car accidents per 10,000 inhabitants, according to data released by Touring Club Suisse (TCS) motoring organisation on Tuesday.
In all, 3,815 alcohol-related accidents took place on Swiss roads in 2021, 57 more than the previous year. Of this number, 364 caused serious injuries or deaths.
With 0.95 accidents per 10,000 inhabitants, Geneva is at the top of the rankings, as it has been for the past five years.
Next is Zug (0.92), Jura (0.68), Valais (0.60) and Uri (0.54).
The accident rate also increased in the cantons of Vaud, Bern, Neuchâtel, Appenzell Ausserrhoden and Zurich. The national average is 0.42.
Revealed: Switzerland’s “Best Tourism Villages”
If you are looking for new places to visit, know this: Andermatt in canton Uri and Morat / Murten in Fribourg have been named among the world’s "Best Tourism Villages" by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
A total of 136 villages around the world were considered; from these, 32 were recognised as Best Tourism Villages by UNWTO — the two Swiss locations among them.
Tourist villages, according to UNWTO, are the ones which value traditional activities such as agriculture and forestry, and which are committed to promoting and preserving their cultural heritage.
Andermatt and Morat convinced the jurors “with their strong orientation towards sustainable development, their proximity to agricultural activities and the local added value that tourism brings to their region.”
Of course, Switzerland has other breathtaking villages as well:
Switzerland's ten most beautiful villages you have to visit
Oops, Switzerland finances a German sports club — by mistake
This is what happens when you don’t know geography: for four years, from 2018 to 2021, the Swiss government had offered financial support totaling 60,000 francs to a sports organisation in Büsingen, Germany.
According to media reports on Tuesday, the Federal Office of Sport (FOSPO), had provided grants meant to promote youth sports programmes in Switzerland to the wrong country: apparently, “federal officials thought that Büsingen was a Swiss municipality.”
Had they looked at the map, they would have known the city is located in the Baden-Württemberg region of Germany which, in their defence, is located very close to Switzerland.
In November, however, “FOSPO noticed that Büsingen actually belonged to Germany,” the Schaffhauser Nachrichten newspaper, which “broke” the story, reported.
The office sent a letter to the sports clubs concerned, telling them that as their headquarters are on German territory, they would no longer be entitled to financial support from Switzerland.
This is not the first time the Swiss showed poor knowledge of geography:
Swiss history: How the army attacked Liechtenstein three times — by mistake
Welcome to winter, everyone!
You may have been dreaming of this day during last summer’s oppressive heatwave, and now it is here: December 21st, the official beginning of the winter season, also known as the winter solstice.
The actual moment that autumn will give way to winter will be at 10:48 pm.
You probably won’t notice (unless you really pay attention to such things ), but today will be the shortest day of the year, followed by the longest night.
If you have any questions about life in Switzerland, ideas for articles or news tips for The Local, please get in touch with us at [email protected]
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