78.2% of Swiss voters rejected this Sunday in referendum create a 50% tax for all inheritances and donations exceeding 50 million francs (53 million euros), designed to tax large fortunes in order to raise more funds for the fight against climate change.
The initiative, promoted by the youth wing of the Swiss Socialist Party, did not achieve support in any of the country’s cantons, according to the final scrutiny.
A Parliament very divided between conservatives, socialists, liberals and Christian Democrats, as well as the coalition Government they form, had recommended voting against this new tax, before the fear that it will encourage large fortunes to leave the country.
At the moment there is no inheritance and gift tax at the federal levelalthough it is in almost all the cantons of the country, with percentages that vary greatly depending on the place but frequently exempt spouses and direct descendants from paying.
With a tax like this, its promoters pointed out, “the climate crisis would be fought in a socially just way and the transformation of the entire economy necessary for that objective will be allowed.
It was calculated that this new tax, without exemption for spouses and descendants or for donations to public institutions and organizations, would have affected around 2,500 taxpayers in Switzerland with fortunes estimated at more than 50 million francs.
Although on paper it was expected that it would increase tax revenues, according to different calculations, between 4,000 and 6,000 million francs annually (4,200-6,400 million euros), the national Treasury warned that In the medium term it could entail losses due to the feared departure of large fortunes from the country.
He also warned that “the new tax could discourage others from settling in Switzerland”, place chosen for decades by magnates, renowned artists and personalities from other countries to settle.
The ecological arguments of those who defended the creation of the tax
Defenders of the initiative claimed that Only the 300 richest fortunes in the country have a wealth of almost 900,000 million eurosalmost equivalent to the national GDP.
Furthermore, they pointed out, “those inherited millions cause great damage through environmentally damaging investments, private jets, yachts, and with the purchase of power and political influence.
“A ‘super-rich’ Swiss person produces more carbon dioxide in a few hours than another average person in his entire life”they stated, adding that while per capita emissions have been constantly reduced over the last 30 years, they have grown by 30% among those with the largest fortunes.
Switzerland refused to convert its compulsory military service to “citizen”
Swiss citizens rejected this Sunday in a referendum change the current military service in the country, mandatory for men, for another “citizen” in which women were also summoned and that included work outside of security, such as climate protection or disaster prevention.
84.15% of voters said “no” to this proposal, according to the final scrutiny.
The initiative sought “extend the notion of security to other domains such as climate protection, food security or assistance”, but the Government and the fragmented Parliament (the conservatives have 31%; socialists, 20%; liberals and Christian Democrats, 14% each) had asked to vote against it, arguing that the army and civil protection bodies play a central role in national security.
The promoters – the organization ‘For an integrating Switzerland’ – argued that Switzerland is not only threatened in the military sphere but also due to cyber attacks, risks of energy shortages or climate disasters such as the landslide that this year destroyed an entire town in an alpine valley in the country.
They also presented the new service as a way to combat the growing individualism of society, through common solidarity activities.
Government and Parliament were against the initiative, arguing that doubling the number of those enlisted in military or other alternative service, from the current 35,000 to 70,000, would exceed the country’s needs.
It would also double the costs derived from social insurance and compensation for not working to almost 2 billion francs (about 2.1 billion euros).
The initiative even contemplated the possibility that the extension of the new service would be extended to people without Swiss citizenship, if the national Parliament decided so.
What is compulsory military service like in Switzerland?
In Switzerland, military service for men has been mandatory since the 19th century.although they are currently allowed to choose between the armed forces or civil protection.
Objectors, whose numbers are increasing, can opt for longer civil service, or pay an exemption fee that is deducted from their annual income for years.
Swiss youth in military service They spend about 18 weeks in a recruit schooland in the following years they have to comply refresher courses lasting just over two weeksto accumulate a total of about eight months of military service.
Swiss women can also perform military service or its alternative in civil protection, although in their case on a voluntary basis.
The system is deeply rooted and is considered by many to be part of Switzerland’s national identity.
The challenge that the initiative posed to the Swiss military service came at a time when The feeling of insecurity in the face of external threats has increased in many countries Europeans, also in Switzerland, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.