Swiss economy on way back to normal, says top treasurer

It pays to save and reduce debts in good years, as well as to invest, says Sabine D'Amelio Favez, director of the Federal Finance Administration. Keystone / Peter Schneider

Switzerland’s economy will be back to its pre-pandemic level as early as this year and does not need a stimulus package, says Sabine D'Amelio-Favez, director of the Federal Finance Administration.

The Confederation has incurred debts of CHF30 billion ($33 billion) to stem the economic consequences of Covid-19, she said in an interview published on Saturday by newspapers of the CH Media group. This is a large sum, but Switzerland was in an excellent position before the Covid-19 outbreak, she told the papers.  

The crisis has shown it pays to save and reduce debts in the good years, so you can make additional expenditures to cope with a crisis, she said. Compared with other countries, Switzerland had not neglected investments before the crisis, expanding spending on infrastructure, education and innovation, D’Amelio-Favez continued.

She said the Federal Finance AdministrationExternal link had also been pleasantly surprised by tax revenue trends. Revenue from direct federal tax in the first quarter of 2021 was at the same level as in the first quarter of 2020. Switzerland is therefore already back to normal, the director concluded.

She said Swiss companies had come through the crisis well overall, which was also thanks to federal government support. Small companies and sectors had been hit the hardest and big companies less so. This had an impact on taxes, D’Amelio-Favez pointed out.