Skiing in Switzerland will become more expensive this winter; Basel-City switches to another tax system; and more news in our Friday roundup.
Skiing in the Swiss Alps will become more expensive this winter season
Prices for ski day passes and season tickets are likely to be up to 5 percent higher during the upcoming winter season than in 2024/2025, according to the Swiss Cable Car Association.
Its director Berno Stoffel said that the prices of day tickets for adults have risen by around 2 to 3 percent, depending on when the tickets are purchased.
For season tickets, on the other hand, prices will go up by 3 to 5 percent.
Basel to change its tax system
The majority of the Basel-City parliament agreed on Wednesday to introduce a withholding tax, which is deducted directly from salaries – a system that is different from the usual one.
Typically, all employees in Switzerland pay their taxes in one fell swoop, in March of each year, and only social insurance charges are deducted from wages each month.
But in Basel-City, companies with more than 50 employees will have to deduct taxes directly from their employees’ salaries. This measure is intended to avoid tax debts.
However, taxpayers who want to maintain the current system may be exempted from the new rule.
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844,000 people in Switzerland have low literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills
This number represents 15 percent of the population aged 16 to 65, according to the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) study released on Thursday.
Among those with low reading, math, and problem-solving skills, 38 percent speak one of Switzerland’s national languages—French, German, or Italian—as their primary language. For the remaining 62 percent, some of the low scores were due to the fact that they had to take the test in a foreign language.
These people are at a definite disadvantage in comparison to the rest of the population.
“Compared to the general population, people with low skills tend to be less active in the workplace and earn less,” the FSO noted. “Their level of well-being is also lower and their participation in social life less marked than that of people with higher skills.
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Ahead this weekend:
Sunday, October 26th: Daylight Saving Time ends
On this day, clocks in Switzerland will be turned back one hour at 3 am.
This means that sunrise and sunset will be about one hour earlier.
The good news is that we all get an extra hour of sleep. The bad news is that it’s going to get darker earlier in the morning and evening.
READ ALSO: Why Europe’s changing of the clocks ‘no longer makes sense’
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