According to the Swiss Trade Union Federation (SGB), income policy in Switzerland is heading in the wrong direction. While top salaries continue to rise, low and middle salaries are stagnating in real terms, according to a report published on Monday.
After paying taxes and rent, people on middle and low incomes have less to live on today than in 2016, the SGB complains. A “lost decade” is looming for lower and middle real wages, according to the report, which analysed the distribution of wages, assets, and tax burdens in Switzerland.
At the same time, the situation of the richest is improving. High wages have risen, while the cantons have lowered income and wealth taxes for the well-off.
The SGB is therefore calling for a substantial increase in lower and middle incomes. There is a great need for action in the so-called women’s professions where wages are too low. In terms of tax policy, the “poll taxes” of health insurance premiums should also be reduced.
Adapted from German by DeepL/dkk/mga
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Most Read Swiss Abroad
More
The citizenship obstacle course facing spouses of Swiss Abroad
What factors should be taken into account when inheriting Swiss citizenship abroad?
Should there be a limit to the passing on of Swiss citizenship? Or is the current practice too strict and it should still be possible to register after the age of 25?
Swiss committee wants to end government resignations during legislative term
This content was published on
Members of the Federal Council should no longer be able to leave office before the end of their term, according to a House of Representatives committee.
Swiss government seat: Ritter and Pfister nominated to succeed Amherd
This content was published on
Markus Ritter from St Gallen and Martin Pfister from Zug were officially nominated by the Centre Party on Friday to succeed Defence Minister Viola Amherd.
Top Swiss court rejects Russian request for administrative tax assistance
This content was published on
There is currently no reason to transmit banking information to the Russian Federation, the Swiss Federal Court has ruled.
After strike by radiologists, doctors demonstrate in Bern
This content was published on
Following a strike by radiology technicians in Fribourg, doctors, vets, dentists and chiropractors expressed their frustration on Friday outside parliament in the Swiss capital.
Eurovision and bleak world situation are top themes at Basel carnival
This content was published on
The Eurovision Song Contest and the gloomy global situation are among the main themes of Basel Fasnacht (carnival) this year.
Prices of Swiss investment properties continue to rise despite stagnating rents
This content was published on
Although rents in Switzerland stagnated or fell in the final quarter of last year, prices for investment properties continued to rise. Both apartment buildings and office properties have become more expensive.
Probe into wrong Swiss pension figures clears federal office
This content was published on
Employees of the Swiss Federal Social Insurance Office (FSIO) did not breach their duty of care when calculating pension prospects, an investigation has concluded.
This content was published on
Hotels in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino welcomed significantly more guests last December than in the same month of the previous year.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.