From an unprecedented spike in Swiss fuel prices to a push for the new treaty with the EU to include a Swiss ‘immigration tax’ — these were among the major news stories that The Local reported this week. You can catch up on everything in this weekly roundup.
Where can you get the cheapest petrol in Switzerland?
The Local reported this week how motorists in Switzerland are having to dig deeper into their pockets these days to fill up their vehicles with petrol, after a drought-related price hike.
Unleaded 95 now costs 2.02 francs per litre on average, while diesel has reached 2.27 francs per litre.
As a result of the price hikes we looked into where you can find the cheapest fuel in Switzerland right now.
READ MORE: Where can you buy the cheapest petrol in Switzerland right now?
New treaty with the EU could mandate an ‘immigration tax’
The Council of States’ Committee on Political Institutions wants to add an immigration levy to the ‘safeguard clauses’ within the future package of agreements between Switzerland and the European Union.
For employed individuals, the levy would be charged to employers, but adults arriving in Switzerland under family reunification provisions would also be subject to the tax and would have to pay it themselves.
READ MORE: Swiss MPs want to introduce new immigration tax into EU agreement
Individual taxation will be implemented in 2032
The new law allowing married couples to declare their income and assets separately instead of being taxed jointly will go into effect six years from now – in 2032
Introduction of this new tax regime is a long and complex administrative process, requiring cantons to review and, if necessary, revise their tax rates and the social deductions they grant.
They may also be required to hold public votes on the matter.
READ MORE: When will Switzerland’s individual taxation come into effect?
Teachers want Swiss classrooms to be more heat-resistant
With the start of new school year, the union representing teachers is highlighting the urgent need for cooler classrooms to withstand heatwaves that are increasing in frequency and intensity.
“Studies clearly establish that as temperatures rise, concentration and learning abilities decline. Yet, many Swiss school buildings were simply not designed to cope with increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves,” the union said.
READ MORE: Swiss teachers demand schools be adapted to climate change
Switzerland will become hotter and drier in the future
Meteorologists forecast that in the future we should expect even more intense heatwaves and droughts than the ones experienced in the summer of 2026.
Concretely, he current trend towards dry summers will intensify in the future; “on average, summers will be drier, and summers that are already dry will become even more extreme,” they say.
It is also likely that current summer temperatures will increase by between 2.4C and 5.1C, exceeding the 40C threshold.
READ MORE: Just how hot and dry will Swiss summers become in future?
Fewer immigrants arrive in Switzerland
According to the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), immigration continues to decline in Switzerland.
During the first six months of 2026, net immigration within the permanent foreign population stood at 29,884 people, down 12.5 percent compared to the same period in 2025.”
This development, the SEM added, “is part of a general trend characterised by a drop in arrivals combined with a rise in emigration.”
READ MORE: What new numbers reveal about immigration in Switzerland in 2026
