In Switzerland everyone pays a wealth tax from 0.17% to 0.3% for wealth of over half a million CHF. (private vehicles, bank accounts, property, all forms of wealth are taxes for everyone independent of “income”.)
Revenues from net wealth taxes made up 5.12 percent of revenues in Switzerland in 2020 …
About one-third of the Swiss population is wealthy enough to owe a “wealth tax”.
intercst
In Switzerland everyone pays a wealth tax from 0.17% to 0.3% for wealth of over half a million CHF. (private vehicles, bank accounts, property, all forms of wealth are taxes for everyone independent of “income”.)
About one-third of the Swiss population is wealthy enough to owe a “wealth tax”. [Emphasis added.]
Intercst,
I hope that one of our readers can shed some light on why so few of the Swiss have managed to amass a mere 500,000 CHF (523,855 USD or 484,255 EUR). I don’t recall seeing mobs of homeless people in Zurich, Lucerne, or any of the mountain villages we traversed over the years, even though the acquisition of even a modest, tidy Swiss cottage requires great wealth.
The median price for houses on the market is CHF 1,150,000. The asking price for 80% of properties falls within the range between CHF 460,000 and CHF 3,330,000. The average [house] price per [square meter] in Switzerland is CHF 7,264 / [sq.m]…
The median price for apartments on the market is CHF 705,000. The asking price for 80% of properties falls within the range between CHF 340,000 and CHF 1,850,000. The average [apartment] price per [sq.m] in Switzerland is CHF 8,004 / [sq.m] (price per square meter).
https://realadvisor.ch/en/property-prices
Perhaps the tax assessors or government revenue officers are all blind or mentally challenged or perhaps the famously discrete Swiss Banks are all empty.
Notehound writes,
I hope that one of our readers can shed some light on why so few of the Swiss have managed to amass a mere 500,000 CHF
</snip
The Swiss are wealthier than Americans. A net worth of $500,000 is the 78th percentile in the US, about 67th percentile in Switzerland. About 50% more Swiss have a net worth of $500K or more.
It may be that the Swiss have a greater understanding of economics. While 66% of Americans own a home, only 42% of the Swiss do (lowest in Europe). Perhaps they’re students of Robert Shiller’s work.
https://www.statista.com/statistics/246355/home-ownership-ra…
intercst
Assets saved in occupational pension plans or tied private provision plans (pillar 3a) are also exempt from wealth tax, whereas life insurance policies with a surrender value count as taxable assets.
https://www.vischer.com/en/knowledge/blog/wealth-tax-and-how…
I don’t recall seeing mobs of homeless people in Zurich, Lucerne, or any of the mountain villages we traversed over the years, even though the acquisition of even a modest, tidy Swiss cottage requires great wealth.
I don’t know about Switzerland, but the norm in Europe is a much better safety net funded by much higher taxes. Because of high taxes, executives prefer company paid perks like first class air travel and hotels rather than big bonuses (which mostly go to taxes).
Safety net means universal health insurance usually paid for by government. Lifetime employment or payments to retirement once you get a job. (Many begin as temps under contract until they get a job offer.)
The safety net means there is no need for homeless people. They get checks from the government and apparently can find a place they can afford.
Meanwhile in Norway…
A record number of super-rich Norwegians are abandoning Norway for low-tax countries after the centre-left government increased wealth taxes to 1.1%.
More than 30 Norwegian billionaires and multimillionaires left Norway in 2022, according to research by the newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv. This was more than the total number of super-rich people who left the country during the previous 13 years, it added. Even more super-rich individuals are expected to leave this year because of the increase in wealth tax in November, costing the government tens of millions in lost tax receipts.
Many have moved to Switzerland, where taxes are much lower.
DB2
Switzerland’s health care system.
https://www.internations.org/switzerland-expats/guide/healthcare#:~:text=Does%20Switzerland%20have%20Free%20Public,Swiss%20nationals%20and%20foreign%20expats.
Does Switzerland have Free Public Healthcare?
Even though Switzerland’s healthcare system is universal, there is no free public healthcare in Switzerland. Instead, all residents of Switzerland must pay for their own private health insurance. This applies to both Swiss nationals and foreign expats.
Residents are required to purchase insurance from private nonprofit insurers. Adults also pay yearly deductibles, in addition to coinsurance (with an annual cap) for all services. Coverage includes most physician visits, hospital care, pharmaceuticals, devices, home care, medical services in long-term care, and physiotherapy. Supplemental private insurance can be purchased for services not covered by mandatory health insurance, to secure greater choice of physicians, and to obtain better hospital accommodations.
https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/910674f2-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/910674f2-en#:~:text=With%20spending%20at%20EUR%205,average%20(EUR%202%20572).
Given these factors, there are large variations in the level and growth of health spending across Europe. There is a strong correlation between income and spending on health, such that high-income European countries are typically those that spent the most on health. With spending at EUR 5 241 per person – adjusted for differences in countries’ purchasing powers – Switzerland was the biggest spender in Europe followed by Norway (EUR 4 505). Among EU member states, spending levels in Germany, Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands were all at least 50% above the EU average (EUR 2 572)
Homelessness in Switzerland.
Apparently the Swiss did not begin counting the the homeless until 2020.
If you stroll through Bern’s city centre in the evening, it is not uncommon to come across homeless people. They spend the night wrapped in sleeping bags in the arcades or on a park bench.
Emergency sleeping facilities at the limit
The situation is similar in the city of Biel where the emergency shelter has been full in recent months.
Similar reports can be heard from the cities of Basel and Geneva.
More and more foreigners are among the homeless.
“Wars and great poverty in other countries are drivers of homelessness - also in Switzerland.”
Hm How many are refugees from US wars?
What happens to the poor who claim they lack funds to pay for insurance?
Are they uninsured? Do they still receive services?
Or does government supplement their premiums and pay for them?
What is the penalty for failure to purchase the insurance?
Swiss health insurance premiums are subsidized for low income residents. And also, the Swiss don’t tolerate the wanton price gouging in medical services that’s the trademark of the US system. So, you’re only adding the 15% to 20% insurance company skim to a medical bill without the “poll tax” of the the US system.
intercst