In the last round of national referendums of 2025 on November 30th, Swiss voters will decide on two issues: one to do with taxes and the other with the civic duty.
‘Initiative for the Future’
Despite it’s rather confusing name, this initiative actually concerns an inheritance tax for the super rich.
The Socialist Youth, a wing of the Social Democratic Party, collected enough signatures to launch an initiative calling for a 50-percent inheritance tax to be imposed on those residents of Switzerland whose assets exceed 50 million francs.
This tax would be levied by the federal government in addition to cantonal or municipal inheritance taxes.
Under the Socialist Youth’s proposal, the proceeds of this windfall would be used for environmental causes and climate control measures.
The Federal Council, however, has pointed out that such a tax would drive away a large proportion of the approximately 2,500 Swiss residents who have a fortune of more than 50 million francs.
READ ALSO: Will wealthy people really ‘flee Switzerland’ over inheritance tax proposals?
It also argues that, If introduced, this tax would generate around 100 to 650 million francs annually – not nearly enough to compensate for the loss of 2.8 to 3.7 billion francs in revenue from wealth and income taxes paid by these high-value individuals each year.
Furthermore, the government pointed out that Switzerland is already firmly committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050
“To support this, the federal government currently allocates around 2 billion francs annually to climate-related measures,” it said. “These funds are primarily raised through consumption-based taxes on thermal and motor fuels.”
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The second issue to voted on: is ‘Civic Duty Initiative’
All Swiss men are required to perform military service or civil protection duties.
Conscientious objectors to military service must instead complete a longer period in civilian service though they sound similar, ‘civil’ and ‘civilian’ service are not one and the same).
The Civic Duty Initiative, spearheaded by a group of multi-party politicians and civic leaders, proposes that all Swiss citizens, men and woman alike, should be required to perform community or environmental service.
This service should be performed either in the military, in civil protection, or through an equivalent citizen-based service, provided that the required personnel levels for the Armed Forces and civil protection are guaranteed.
The initiative seeks to broaden the definition of national security by highlighting mandatory service in areas such as climate protection, food security and caregiving. As with the current system, those who do not serve would be required to pay a tax.
The government, however, urges the ‘no’ vote because “the army and civil protection, supported by the civil service, play a central role in Switzerland’s security. The obligation to serve should be reserved for these organisations. The civic service proposed by the initiative would go much further, resulting in high costs for the federal government and the cantons, and a significant burden on the economy.”
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Will the two initiatives be approved or rejected?
The most recent poll, carried out in October – that is, more than a month before the referendum – by gfs.bern research institute on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, indicated that 64 percent of those surveyed were either ‘definitely’ or ‘somewhat’ against taxing the super-rich, while only 35 percent supported it.
For the ‘Civic Duty Initiative’ on the other hand, the outcome could be much tighter: 48 percent have spoken in favour, 46 against, and 6 percent were undecided.
