Yearbook 2017
Switzerland. Corporate taxation in the country could not be reformed in favor of the companies. With the proposal, the government wanted to lower the taxes for companies in order to resist the increased “tax competition” from other European states. In February, the neoside won a referendum on this by 59% against the jaside’s 41%. The background was that the government had received international criticism for the system now prevailing, that each cantonment had the opportunity to sign its own tax treaties with international companies. With its proposal, the government wanted to address the criticism while maintaining its attractiveness. See ABBREVIATIONFINDER for frequently used acronyms and abbreviations related to as well as country profile of Switzerland.
And probably Switzerland is attractive. According to Countryaah.com, the country comes first in terms of developing and attracting competence as well as retaining it. This according to the Swiss School of Economics IMD’s annual ranking, which was presented in November. At the beginning of the year, the same was true of the big bank HSBC, which looked at which country was the best to move to in terms of career opportunities.
During the summer, Saab received an order for a new anti-armor system, called NLAW, from the Swiss army. The agreement is worth SEK 1 billion and is valid until 2030.
In July, five people, two seriously, were injured in a chainsaw attack against an insurance office in Schaffhausen, near the border with Germany. According to the police, this was not a terrorist act. A 51-year-old man was later arrested for the act.
In August, a landslide occurred in Val Bondasca, in the Canton of Graubünden in the eastern part of the country, which partially buried the village of Bondo. Eight people were feared to be dead. In September, some 30 people were injured when two trains collided in Andermatt along the Matterhorn – Gotthardbanan.
In early August, the world’s longest suspension bridge, Europabrücke, was inaugurated. It is 494 meters long and runs 86 meters above the ground between Zermatt and Grächen.
