Swiss Abroad were less harsh on the inheritance tax initiative

Like the rest of Switzerland, the Swiss abroad clearly rejected the two initiatives put to the vote on November 30, 2025 (illustration). Keystone / Christian Beutler

The initiative to introduce a new inheritance tax on the wealthiest did not win the support of the diaspora on Sunday, but it was received with more leniency. Like the rest of the country, the Swiss Abroad inflicted a a heavy defeat to the civic duty initiative.  

The two initiatives put to the vote on Sunday were soundly defeated with no surprises from the Swiss diaspora.

The initiative of the Young Social Democrats, who wanted a 50% tax on the inheritance of the richest to finance the fight against global warming, was curtly rejected by 78.3% of the electorate and in all the cantons.

As for the Swiss Abroad – at least in the 12 cantons that provide detailed statistics on their vote – the “no” vote also won, with almost 67%. 

Although this rejection is very clear, it is almost 12 percentage points lower than that expressed by the population as a whole, which is “notable”, according to political scientist Martina Mousson at the gfs.bern institute.

“When an initiative is supported by a third of the population, we can still talk about an honourable result,” she says.

A more left-wing and more urban vote 

Mousson sees this as a sign of the typical voting behaviour of the diaspora, which is on the whole more politically left-wing and more urban than the resident population. The political scientist notes that the percentage of approval of the initiative by the Swiss Abroad is closer to that observed in Swiss cities (the yes vote rose to more than 41% in Zurich, nearly 40% in Geneva and 36% in Basel).

In Switzerland, the supposedly devastating consequences that the initiative would have had on family businesses and SMEs dominated the debate very early on. These concrete arguments, which weighed heavily in the final result, certainly found less resonance abroad, says the political scientist.

Finally, although the environmental dimension of the text took a backseat during the campaign, it is conceivable that it convinced part of the expat population that is generally more in favour of environmental issues than the rest of the country.

A look at practices abroad shows that some countries tax inheritances heavily, others not at all, and the subject is (or has been) debated almost everywhere, as we explain in the article below:

The citizen service initiative was unconvincing

The second initiative put to the vote on Sunday, which wanted to introduce a citizen service, experienced a real debacle at the ballot box, with a rejection by more than 84% – one of the clearest in history, and even more massive than expected.

On this subject, the diaspora was not more benevolent: more than 80% voted against the text.

In principle, the Swiss Abroad would not have been affected by this reform. Are they still afraid of being so? “Perhaps, but I think it’s really the basic idea that hasn’t been accepted. Both the left and the right were against it, and in the end no one was really in favour anymore,” says Mousson.

The political scientist adds that the initiative has received very little visibility: the topic has received one of the lowest media coverage in recent years, according to a report by the Media Research Center of the University of Zurich (fögExternal link).

Average turnout

Sunday’s vote did not particularly mobilise voters. Just under 21% of the Swiss Abroad cast their ballots, compared to an average turnout of 24% over the past five years.

The same goes for the Swiss population as a whole: the overall turnout was 43%, six percentage points lower than the average of 49%.  

Edited by Balz Rigendinger. Adapted from French by DeepL/ac