Canton Set To Vote On Reduced Tax; Swiss Chocolate, Not Swiss; 200 Bicycles Looking For Their Owners

News For 7 March 2023

On Sunday, March 12, citizens will vote on a tax package proposal by the government to reduce taxes.  Included in the proposal, should it be accepted by voters, will be a reduction of the income tax rate from 21.5 to 21 percent, health insurance deductions will be increased to 4000 CHF / person, and the wealth tax will be reduced to 7.9 from 9 percent.  Furthermore, child-care and social deductions will also increase.  The aggregate tax reduction package is expected to reduce Basel Stadt tax revenue by 112 million Swiss Francs per year.  Government parties and officials in favor of the package point out that the canton has been fortunate to have 15 years of budget surpluses.

**********

Iconic global brand Toblerone chocolate, recognized by people all over the world for its triangle shaped treat, and wrapped in images of Swiss mountains, can no longer call itself a Swiss product on its packaging.  The brand has been owned by American food conglomerate Mondelez International since 2012, when it was spun out from another company, Kraft foods.   The chocolates have been manufactured by the factories of Tobler and Suchard of Bern since 1908 when the name "Toblerone" was trademarked in Switzerland.  The changes to the packaging are the result of a 2017 Swiss law which requires that products claiming Swiss origins have 80% of their raw materials sourced in Switzerland, up to 100% for milk and dairy products.  Now that Mondelez has moved some of its Toblerone manufacturing to Slovakia, it no longer meets the criteria for "Swissness".  The company intends to change the packaging to say the product was "established in" Switzerland instead of saying "Toblerone of Switzerland", and remove the Swiss Cross usually associated with the Swiss flag.

**********

Has your bicycle gone missing recently? Was it parked near the city center the last time you saw it? There's a good chance it's not stolen, rather picked up in a sweep by Basel police in a pre-Fasnacht clean-up of unclaimed and unattended bikes that would have otherwise clogged the common thoroughfares visited by Fasnacht revelers.  Tanja Petignat speaking on behalf of the Basel Zeughaus, which manages the cantonal impound said that over 200 bicycles were removed from the inner parts of the city in preparation of Fasnacht.  If you would like to reclaim your bicycle, be prepared of course, to prove that it was yours.  Ideally, you have a receipt or photos demonstrating ownership.  Every year Basel ends up auctioning or donating almost 90% of impounded, and eventually unclaimed bicycles.