GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – I’m back from five intense days of wine-tasting for Ellen’s Wine World; here’s what’s been happening in local and Swiss news:
Energy tax – thumbs down
Swiss voters gave a loud “no” – a record 92% refused it – to a tax on energy use, proposed by the political Left, Sunday 8 March. The tax would have replaced the value-added (TVA) tax over a period of five years, but voters were not keen on the idea that the price of petrol would go up by five francs.
Voters also rejected a proposal by the centre-right to provide more aid to families, by more than 75%. The popular initiative would have allowed parents to deduct from their taxes government allocations for children and schooling, at all three tax levels. Voters appeared to have been convinced by arguments that the fiscal loss would be too great.
Geneva taxes lose initial fight to ban Uber
Geneva taxi-drivers lost their fight Friday 6 March in a Geneva court, to ban Uber from the city’s streets. Taxiphone and others joined forces to argue that Uber provides unfair competition and misinforms the public, but the court declared that they had not proven their case.
Fifa told to provide women athletes with more support
Human Rights Watch has turned its attention to women in sports ahead of the FIFA (international football federation) elections, criticizing the group and its president Sepp Blatter for its wobbly stance on women attending sports matches, never mind that they are banned from many sports in some countries:
“Blatter is doing the right thing by speaking out now, ahead of the FIFA leadership election on May 29, but much more needs to be done to hold Iran and Saudi Arabia to account for flouting the rules.
Now that Blatter has found his voice, it will be interesting to see what action, if any, FIFA will take if the Iranian and Saudi authorities persist in banning women from attending football matches as spectators. Is FIFA prepared to sanction Iran and Saudi Arabia for lowering the standards in sport? Will Iran still be allowed to host international football matches and competitions like the 2019 Asian Cup, for which it is reportedly bidding? These are just a few of the questions that FIFA needs to address.”
Good news for Swiss consumers, price cuts
Swiss consumers are gradually feeling the impact of the lower euro/higher franc by seeing a number of stores and shops lowering prices. The two large supermarket chains, Migros and Coop, have been announcing cuts – children’s toy prices for brands like Lego and Playmobil are lower as of today at the first. And several wines are now lower at Cave SA in Gland, as well as in supermarkets, as stocks disappear and new orders come in at lower prices.