ZURICH, Sept 13 (Askume) – Switzerland’s value-added tax (VAT) should rise by 0.7% from 2026 to fund a rise in pensions for the elderly, the government said on Friday.
A plan to pay pensioners an annual 13th monthly instalment won the support of Swiss voters earlier this year .
The government announced plans to raise value-added tax after a Federal Council meeting and said the additional pension payments would cost about 4.2 billion Swiss francs (about $4.96 billion) by 2026.
The government says the VAT plan will ensure the pension reserve remains balanced by 2030.
Switzerland’s current general VAT rate is 8.1%, but certain goods and services have lower rates.
(1 USD = 0.8470 Swiss Francs)
