After Swiss voters rejected a proposal to introduce a 50% tax on inheritances over CHF50 million, Swissinfo readers began debating whether taxing the wealthy drives them abroad, with some even claiming this is already happening in countries such as Norway and the UK. We took a closer look.
The “For a social climate policy” initiative, launched by the youth section of the left-wing Social Democratic Party (JUSO), proposed a 50% tax on any inheritance or gift worth more than CHF50 million ($63 million). The revenue was to be earmarked for tackling climate change.
The proposal was based on the belief that the very wealthy, whose lifestyles have a greater impact on global warming, should contribute more to climate protection. But the initiative was rejected by 78.3% of Swiss voters, with fears that the super-rich would leave the country helping to tip the balance.
Switzerland’s super-rich warn they may leave
The “No” camp included several high-profile figures. Peter Spuhler, owner of manufacturer Stadler Rail and one of Switzerland’s 100 richest people, became the face of the campaign. He argued his children could not afford such a tax without selling large parts of the company, thereby risking loss of control. If the initiative had passed, he said, leaving Switzerland would have been his only option.
+ Inheritance tax vote spooks Swiss super-rich
However, some economists argue these claims shouldn’t be taken at face value. “That’s what we like to call ‘cheap talk’,” says Marius Brülhart, professor of economics at HEC Lausanne business school. Isabel Martínez, who heads the Inequality and Public Economics research section at the KOF Swiss Economic Institute of the federal technology institute ETH Zurich, adds that a threat is not the same as action. She says that it is “something wealthy individuals play with because they benefit from stoking this fear among voters”.
According to both experts, there is evidence that wealthy people in Switzerland are more mobile, particularly foreign millionaires. “When it comes to wealth and inheritance taxes, the super-rich are the ones who react most strongly,” says Martínez.
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Will a drastic hike in Swiss inheritance tax lead to an exodus of billionaires?
In this case, Brülhart argues the proposed 50% inheritance tax was simply too high. His estimates suggested it would have prompted many of those affected (around 2,500 people) to leave Switzerland or deterred others from moving here in the first place, a factor that weighs heavily in such calculations.
“Economics isn’t physics,” he says. “But given the empirical evidence we have, we would have expected a significant exodus. My guess is that between half and three-quarters of those hit by the tax, had it passed, would have either left Switzerland or never come at all.”
Brülhart says economists generally view inheritance taxes favourably because they “don’t discourage people from working. In fact, they preserve incentives to work. But you can have too much of a good thing”. He believes that if this tax had been adopted, it would have been “self-defeating”. Still, he stresses this case is an exception.
The impact of inheritance taxes
Both Brülhart and Martínez agree that introducing an inheritance tax wouldn’t necessarily mean that Switzerland would lose large numbers of wealthy taxpayers. They also point out that the fact some rich people move doesn’t automatically translate into a net loss for society. “If you raise taxes, some people will obviously leave, but many will stay, and those who stay pay more.
So, it’s always a question of balancing that extra revenue against those who leave,” says Brülhart. His research into inheritance tax changes across Swiss cantons found that while some very wealthy individuals do relocate, the numbers aren’t significant enough to make a real dent in government revenue. In the three cantons that levy inheritance taxes on direct descendants, rates are still relatively low.
A 2024 studyExternal link by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that changes to wealth taxes in Scandinavian countries prompted some wealthy people to relocate, but the overall impact on the economy was minimal.
“They found that a one percentage-point increase in the top wealth tax reduced aggregate employment by around 0.02%. But a one percentage-point increase is a huge tax change, given that wealth taxes are usually below or around 1%,” says Martínez.
When assessing the impact of inheritance taxes on the mobility of the super-rich, it’s important to factor in other elements, especially the overall tax mix.
“In general, tax levels in Switzerland are still pretty low compared to its neighbours, so it’s not just the absolute level that matters, but also the difference,” explains Martínez.
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How Swiss inheritance taxes compare internationally
Norway and UK see mixed outcomes from wealth tax increases
Calls to reduce inequality are gaining traction across Europe and many countries are locked in heated debates over introducing or raising wealth taxes. In 2022, Norway’s centre-left government increased its wealth tax rate to 1.1% for net wealth above NOK20.7 million (CHF1.6 million). Reports suggest a significant number of millionaires have since left the country.
“Many, for example, have moved to Switzerland, probably because the two countries are culturally quite similar. So, there are many factors at play when it comes to relocation for wealthy individuals,” says Martínez.
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Why calls to ‘tax the rich’ are loud, popular – and rarely successful
Initial reports suggest that 105 of Norway’s 400 richest people now live abroad or have transferred wealth to relatives who do. Yet, despite this exodus, revenue from the tax has risen and now accounts for 0.6% of GDP, according to ReutersExternal link.
In April 2025, the British government scrapped the non-dom scheme, which allowed UK residents whose domicile was outside the country to pay UK tax only on income earned in Britain, and not on revenue made elsewhere.
A recent reportExternal link by wealth advisory firm Henley & Partners suggested that 16,500 more US dollar millionaires would leave the UK in 2025 than would arrive. However, the figures have been disputed, and the campaign group Tax Justice Network criticised the report for using sources such as LinkedIn. Their own analysisExternal link found that while the number of millionaires leaving the country rose slightly in 2024, it represented just 0.3% of the UK’s more than three million millionaires. There is no official data yet on how many wealthy individuals are leaving because of the government’s tax changes. According to HM Revenue & Customs, official figures will only start to emerge in January 2027.
So, to answer the original question: very wealthy individuals do tend to change residency when taxes rise. But it’s not true that inheritance taxes always trigger a mass exodus of the rich. The level of the tax also determines whether higher rates can still generate a net increase in government revenue.
Edited by Marc Leutenegger/gw
