On Sunday 4 March 2018, Swiss voters will vote on two federal initiatives. New financial regime 2021 Switzerland’s federal government must periodically seek voter approval to collect taxes. If Sunday’s vote is successful, a constitutional amendment will be made extending the government’s right to tax Swiss residents. Swiss vote results – 4 March 2018 (Le […]
Vaud – vote on divisive dental tax and care plan
On 4 March 2018, voters in Vaud will vote on a plan to provide basic universal dental care funded by a tax on salaries. The initiative entitled: Reimbursement of dental care, Pour le remboursement des soins dentaires in French, claims that 10% of the population avoid the dentist because of the cost. They also claim links […]
The new immigration vote that could end free Swiss-EU migration
Last week the Swiss People’s Party (UDC/SVP) and Action for a neutral independent Switzerland (ASIN) began collecting the 100,000 signatures required to launch a new vote to limit immigration into Switzerland from EU and EFTA nations. The new initiative to limit immigration is less ambiguous than the one put to a vote on 9 February 2014. […]
Three quarters of Swiss voters favour burqa ban, suggests poll
A recent online poll run on behalf of the newspapers Le Matin Dimanche and SonntagsZeitung suggests a large majority of Swiss voters are in favour of a nationwide ban on face covering in public. Around 76% approve of the anti-face covering initiative launched by the group, known as the Egerkingen committee. The group, which presented […]
Vote to abolish Swiss TV tax likely to pass, according to survey
Tribune de Genève. Many are unhappy with Switzerland’s compulsory broadcasting fee and a popular vote aimed at scrapping it is scheduled for spring next year. A recent survey done by the newspapers SonntagsZeitung and Le Matin Dimanche show 57% of those surveyed will vote to have the fee axed. Only 34% were in favour of […]
Survey offers clues to why Swiss rejected last Sunday’s pension reform
A survey by Tamedia offers clues to why 52.7% of Swiss voters rejected the pension reform plan that was put to a vote last Sunday. 20% of those voting “no” thought it was a pseudo reform that didn’t go far enough, while 26% felt it left too much of a burden on younger taxpayers. In […]
Swiss vote results on pension reform and food security – 24 September 2017
Today, Swiss voted on a reform of the Swiss pension system, which included a plan to raise VAT, and a government counterproposal on a Swiss Farmers’ Union initiative calling for increased subsidies and trade protection for Swiss farmers, dubbed the food security initiative. The food security vote was accepted by 78.7% of voters, while the […]
Swiss food security – vote this weekend
This Sunday, Swiss voters will decide the fate of a proposed change to the constitution on food security. The text is the government’s response to an earlier proposal by the Swiss Farmers’ Union, which demanded farmers receive greater financial support, and better shielding from foreign food imports. The proposal now before voters, which was sufficient […]
Meet Switzerland’s newest federal councillor
Yesterday, Switzerland’s federal assembly elected Ignazio Cassis as the federal council replacement to Didier Burkhalter, who resigned in June this year. Cassis was chosen by a majority of the federal assembly over Pierre Maudet (Geneva) and Isabelle Moret (Vaud) in a tightly contested race, receiving 125 of 244 valid votes in the second round. Cassis, a […]
Swiss voters to decide on controversial pension reform
On 24 September 2017, the Swiss electorate will vote on whether to accept a package of pension reforms. Switzerland has a pension system with three parts. The first is a universal monthly payment funded by the social security system. Compulsory deductions from the salaries of those working fund payments to current retirees. This is known […]
