Besides three issues to be voted on the national level, some Swiss cantons will hold referendums on issues of local importance as well.
As a reminder, on November 29th, four subjects will be on the national ballot.
They are: financing of the 13th pension, initiative on limiting private fireworks, individual taxation of married people, as well as an amendment to the ‘War Materiel Act’.
You can see all the details here:
READ MORE: What’s at stake in Switzerland’s November referendums?
Don’t miss our journalists’ daily news roundup from Switzerland
Additionally, some cantons will hold their own votes on the matters of regional importance:
Aargau: Taxes
The primary goal of this proposed tax revision is to cut the highest cantonal income tax bracket from 11 percent currently to 9.75 percent.
According to authorities, this measure will “improve the tax competitiveness of the Canton of Aargau and achieve the tax strategy’s objective of positioning the canton among the ten most attractive cantons in an inter-cantonal comparison.”
(The cantons with lowest taxes are – in this order – Zug, Schwyz, Appenzell.Innerrhoden, Obdwalden, and Uri)
Basel-Country: cheaper public transport
A legislative initiative “For an Affordable Public Transport Pass for Children and Young People” proposes that children and young people up to the age of 25 be able to obtain an annual subscription fare for the Northwest Switzerland Tariff Network (TNW) at a cost of 365 Swiss francs per year (that is,1 franc per day) – down from the current 542.
This would bring fares in line with the youth tariffs in the neighbouring Basel-City.
Lucerne: Push to include ‘digitalisation’ in cantonal Constitution.
The “Digitisation now!” initiative of the Young Liberals demands that the basic phrase “digital first” is included in the cantonal Constitution.
This principle states that the canton and the municipalities should carry out their tasks, whenever possible, by electronic means.
Though the cantonal government shares this ambition, it rejects enshrining it in the Constitution.
(By the way, on a federal level, the government has begun digitalising the naturalisation process for a quicker outcome.)
Valais: Minimum wage
The canton wants to follow in the footsteps of Geneva, Neuchâtel, Jura, and Ticino by introducing a statutory minimum wage.
The proposal calls for 22 francs per hour, regardless of the type of employment contract.
But even if the bid is approved by voters, the future of cantonal minimum wages is not set in stone.
That’s because following a parliamentary vote in June, minimum wages outlined in collective labour agreements (CLAs) will have precedence over cantonal minimum wages.
READ MORE: What you should know about Switzerland’s minimum wage vote
