Two key issues were at stake in a national referendum in September 28th – one that affects rent and the other was the controversial subject of electronic ID. These are the results, and what they mean to you.
Abolishment of imputed rental value: accepted by 57.7 percent of voters
What was it about?
If you own a property and use it yourself, you had to pay income tax on what is known as the imputed rental value. In return, you could deduct your mortgage interest and maintenance costs from your taxable income.
The Parliament has passed an amendment to the law that abolishes the taxation of the imputed rental value and restricts the options for making deductions.
This is what the voters approved.
When the new law goes into effect (it may take several years) homeowners will no longer be able to take advantage of the tax deduction.
Electronic identity card (e-ID): accepted by 50.39 of voters
Perhaps because the issue has been so controversial for so long, it won by only a very slim majority.
According to the government. which urged he voters to accept the proposal, “if you want to order or apply for something online, you may have to prove your identity. With electronic proof of identity, the so-called e-ID, it will be possible to do this completely digitally. The e-ID works like a digital identity card, but currently there is no e-ID in Switzerland.”
It sounds simple enough, but voters had already rejected this legislation in 2021, mainly because the e-ID was going to be issued by private companies, raising concerns about the security of this document.
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In the aftermath of this defeat at the ballot box, the government devised a new law, stipulating that only the federal government will issue the e-ID and operate the required technical infrastructure, thereby ensuring the best possible protection of privacy and data security.
As with the property tax, the date of the implementation of this new measure is not yet known.
READ ALSO: What you need to know about Switzerland’s controversial ‘electronic-ID’
