Guest Blogs
Knowitall.ch often invites local experts in their field to contribute to their own blogs on our site. This means not only you will benefit from the useful recommendations that we make on our News pages, but you can also profit from some of the great advice and tips that these experts have to make on their favorite subjects. Whilst each of these bloggers has been recommended to us at some point during the evolution of Know-it-all passport and knowitall.ch, obviously we are not able to test out all the suggestions they make on their blogs, nor do we necessarily agree with all their opinions. So if you do find one of their tips useful (or not!), do let us know!
To make these blogs more accessible to you, we have now decided to group them altogether in one section, entitled Guest Blogs, accessible from our main menu bar. We will also post the most recent blogs on the home page of our site in the right hand column.
We are still building up this area of the site, and are looking for bloggers in a number of sections, including Your Home, Travel, and Leisure, so if you feel you have a useful contribution to make in either of these areas, and have the time to submit blog entries approximately every month, then please get in touch!
By Marianne Salem, Lake Leman International School, www.llis.ch
Your child isn’t reading at the same level as his or her classmates, or perhaps hasn’t as good a grasp of mathematics and science. Is it time to call in the specialists, or track down a tutor and pay for extra classes? We say no. Just like every adult has different abilities, every child is unique and learns at a different pace. It’s not about judging your child against the progress of others, rather it’s about helping them to find their path to fulfilling their own potential.
Education at its own speed
Some children have a natural aptitude for maths, while others have an affinity for the arts. Yet as parents, we may naturally want them to excel at subjects we believe will suit them best in life, gearing them towards traditional professions in law, medicine, engineering and academia.
By Tanya Jeannet, Rockmybaby
Full-time live –in and live-out nanny salaries range between 3500CHF – 5000CHF per month gross on average depending on experience and qualifications and number of hours worked per month (full time standard hours are 43 hours a week in Zurich for nannies – each canton varies on standard hours too). For live-in nannies, an amount of 990CHF can be deducted from their salaries for food and accommodation. Hourly rates for nannies range between 20CHF-35CHF per hour gross on average, once again depending on experience and qualifications.
On top of the gross salary, the employer has to add his/ her contributions to AHV / AVS as per below, Accident Insurance and BVG (if salary above annual threshold of 21 150CHF). The employer is also responsible for deducting the employee contributions from the monthly gross salary and paying them to the appropriate institutions.
©Julie_Masson
by Sara Dubler, www.haut-lac.ch
In recent years, a great deal has been written on the various aspects of an international education, in particular about parent considerations and student benefits. This is mainly due to the continuing growth in the number of such schools year on year. Bilingualism and even multilingualism are often qualities associated with an International School due to the fact there are various nationalities represented, hence more languages spoken than there would be in a public school. Having said this, there are times when a parent, concerned with making the best choice for their child, comes to the conclusion that a bilingual education may not be the most appropriate option.
By Alan Turner, Forth Capital
There are two major changes to UK taxes that will happen in April that are going to significantly affect UK property owners who live abroad.
The first of these is going to see an increase in the stamp duty that is paid by expatriates acquiring a second UK residential property, and the second change is an increase that will affect expats who own UK properties within companies.
I took the time to discuss these with our Head of Tax, Mark Routen, to try and understand what this really means and what can be done to mitigate. This is what I learned:
By Mark Routen, Forth Capital
On the 16th March the Chancellor will deliver the 2016 budget. This will be against a backdrop of uncertainty caused by the EU referendum to be held on the 23rd June and also in a difficult worldwide financial market place, where performance has not been as expected and growth is not reaching the expected levels.
There is still the deficit to be repaid and while the UK economy is doing well the financial markets are suffering and the pound is down.
Against this backdrop the Chancellor has to create a 2016 budget that will help repay the deficit without damaging the shoots of recovery and without alienating a section of the electorate that the remain campaign are relying on to keep the UK in Europe, a campaign of which he and the prime minister are key members of.
