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Swiss minister flirts with inheritance tax idea

Baume-Schneider flirts with inheritance tax in favor of AHV
Baume-Schneider flirts with inheritance tax in favor of AHV Keystone-SDA

Introducing a federal inheritance tax and and raising the retirement age are not taboos for Swiss interior minister Elisabeth Baume-Schneider when it comes to financing the AHV.

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In an interview. with Swiss public broadcaster SRF, Baume-Schneider warned that the introduction of a 13th old age pension payment will incur major costs.

+ Swiss vote: ‘yes’ to higher pensions, ‘no’ to retiring later

Baume-Schneider said on the Rundschau program that she wanted to present the key figures for pension reform to the Federal Council in the first half of 2025.

However, after the responsible House of Representatives committee clearly rejected a national inheritance tax at the end of October, the idea is likely to have no chance in parliament.

A majority of the population inherit at the age of over 60. “A tax there would not be a drama,” Baume-Schneider continued in the Rundschau. People are getting older, and that costs money. So we also need to discuss raising the retirement age. It is undisputed that the pension system is facing a deficit of billions in less than ten years.

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Translated from German by DeepL/mga

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