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Blick: Mr. Meierhans, everything is becoming more expensive. This will be a black year for the price watchdog.
Stefan Meierhans: The starting position is actually not very encouraging. And quite a challenge for many people! On all fronts. Since 2012, after the abolition of the minimum exchange rate of the Swiss franc, I have received as many complaints as in 2023. The flow of complaints shows us like a fever meter: this is not just an increased temperature. Many people worry that they can no longer afford daily living. This worries me greatly.
Do companies or private individuals contact you? And what kind of complaints are received?
Transverse bed. A large number of private individuals, but also SMEs, in particular, complain. On Tuesday we counted 2,768 complaints in many different areas over the past year. With the exception of 2012, no further complaints have been received.
Where does the shoe pinch?
Where not? For example, certain postal rates are currently causing great dissatisfaction.
The higher shipping costs hardly matter if I send a package two letters a year and once before Christmas.
Maybe not for you, but think about small businesses. We have been able to reduce postage and price increases at the post office by more than R70 million – but small businesses in rural areas are suffering greatly as they no longer receive individual discounts on their parcels. The butcher shop in the mountain area, which also sells sausages online, cannot simply switch to DPD or DHL. Until recently, the postal service sometimes collected parcels from you for free and granted individual contract discounts. That’s the end of it. Here, small businesses suffer from a company that is 100 percent state-owned.
State-owned enterprises are always a topic for you, right?
Yes, there were also numerous complaints about ticket prices on public transport, although we were able to reduce price increases by 50 million. Many commuters, as well as retirees who want to go shopping, depend on buses and trains. If state-owned enterprises are not role models for the population, then that should be something to think about.
It is also the state postal financing that insists on high bank costs despite higher interest rates.
Post-financing may dominate the cash payments market, but fortunately in the normal private sector we have many alternatives available to us. The ZKB, also a public bank, is now waiving fees, while the Aargauer Kantonalbank has been waiving fees for a long time. The problem, however, is that switching to another bank entails a lot of effort and costs. Therefore, competition is only limited. We should take Austria as an example, which by law ensures that it is easy to change banks – similar to what is already common here with mobile phones.
The acquisition of CS by UBS will create a new monster bank that will probably have a dominant market position in certain areas.
We’ll wait for the banking regulator Finma to finally approve the merger, but yes: the new UBS should at least be powerful in certain markets. One thing is clear: the new UBS will keep a close eye on price monitoring. If the competition is not good, especially in the business customer sector, we will intervene. The law and the constitution require this.
Consumers should also expect higher prices in stores because the VAT rate was increased at the beginning of this year.
It will be noticeable that the normal tax rate has risen from 7.7 to 8.1 percent. The good news, however, is that the already reduced rate for food increased only 0.1 percent to 2.6 percent, and the rate for housing increased only slightly. Crucial for customers will be whether the stores pass on the increases and how they round them up.
You will probably immediately promise me that the price watchdog will look closely at this. Or?
No, we have already looked – we have taken preventive measures, so to speak. We contacted the companies before Christmas. We asked about prices before and after the holidays. For a general overview, we also use data from the Federal Statistical Office. And we have activated a VAT calculator. Increases can be tracked and reported here. I am convinced that all this has had a preventive effect: knowing that the spotlight is on you inhibits any self-service mentality. Naturally, we will continue to monitor price developments continuously. But there is also good news.
Which?
Industrial tariffs on foreign non-food products have been abolished. This means that televisions, bicycles and clothing must become cheaper. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, Seco, speaks of 800 million francs saved by our companies. I do expect that consumers will benefit from larger purchases.
So is there little reason to buy the television across the border?
Well, when it comes to tech goods, Switzerland has not been more expensive than the surrounding European region thanks to competition. Very often, for example, the iPhone in Switzerland is the cheapest in all of Europe. However, it is about something fundamental: as you know, I grew up in the Rhine Valley of St. Gall. Here it is completely normal to drive across the border to do some shopping. If you look at the car numbers in the parking lot of the Rheinpark shopping center in St. Margrethen, you will find numerous vehicles with German and Austrian license plates. Cross-border shopping takes place on both sides of the Rhine. Lowering the limit from 300 francs to where you can shop without VAT is therefore extremely regrettable and contradicts the idea of a free market economy.
As a resident of St. Gallen, Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter should actually know that.
Federal councilor Keller-Sutter only needs to carry out the will of parliament. She does it with a sense of proportion. But I must say: there is no point in trying to lock up the Swiss! There are families who trust that they can do their weekly shopping as cheaply as possible.
But the Swiss retail industry is suffering from this!
The economy as a whole suffers more the more free trade in goods is suppressed. This is a truth. Finally, don’t forget…
… What?
Health insurance premiums have also risen, energy has become more expensive and rents are rising and rising. You can’t limit people’s last simple savings option.
Is there anything you can do about these price increases?
We have taken action against higher energy prices. Tenants feel this, among other things, from the additional costs. We have had some successes in the area of health care costs, for example in laboratory prices and medicines, worth several hundred million francs. But the Federal Council has not yet implemented many of my recommendations. I hope that the pressure of suffering will now be noticed and that the realization will prevail that it is not primarily hospitals and industry that need to be protected, but at least as much the patients. Not to forget: the increase in volume due to overtherapy and overmedication is unnecessarily expensive. And finally, the explosion in rental prices – which I can only observe under current legislation – will probably remain one of the biggest concerns for the Swiss in the coming years. Politics are needed here.
Finally, so far the Federal Council has done nothing to alleviate inflation in so many areas. He doesn’t just fold his arms when it comes to rent. What figures do you give our state government in the fight against the loss of purchasing power?
It is not my job to hand out figures to the government.
You don’t dare do that as a federal official?
That’s not my style. I hope that our Federal Council will always take into account the challenges facing the population. I hope that the Federal Council will use its power to reduce costs for the people. Often a small change in regulations is sufficient, saving households in the country a lot of money. My recommendations in this regard are available to him.
Stefan Meierhans (55) has been a price monitor for 16 years. As ‘Monsieur Prix’, the lawyer is responsible for price control where free competition does not play a role – for example in public transport. He also examines postal prices, laboratory rates and fees. Meierhans lives in Bern with his wife and two daughters.
Stefan Meierhans (55) has been a price monitor for 16 years. As ‘Monsieur Prix’, the lawyer is responsible for price control where free competition does not play a role – for example in public transport. He also examines postal prices, laboratory rates and fees. Meierhans lives in Bern with his wife and two daughters.
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
