Most Swiss cantons expect budget deficits in 2026

In various cantons, expenditure has grown faster than income. Keystone-SDA

Most cantons are expecting a deficit in their budgets for 2026. In several cantons, austerity programmes are either already underway or planned. In others, tax cuts are foreseen.

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“The largest shares of cantonal expenditure are for education, social affairs and health,” Ernst Stocker, president of the Conference of Cantonal Finance Directors, told the Keystone-SDA news agency on Friday. In various cantons, expenditure has grown faster than income.

This trend is confirmed in the 2026 budgets, Stocker added. In some cantons, there is also a high need for investment. On the revenue side, some cantons are expecting a slowdown in economic growth after several years of favourable economic conditions.

Zug and Bern plan tax cuts

Canton Zug is expecting the highest revenue surplus (CHF 370 million), although expenditure is expected to rise by over CHF300 million. The canton is planning to reduce the tax rate from 82% to 78%, which would cost it around CHF25 million.

Canton Bern is also considering a tax cut. It is planning to reduce taxes by around CHF440 million by 2029.

By contrast, canton Appenzell Outer Rhodes is planning a tax increase. Among other things, higher expenditure on hospital financing and supplementary benefits are weighing on the budget, which is expecting a deficit of CHF13.2 million for 2026. To further stabilise the state budget and curb debt, the government is proposing a tax rate adjustment. The cantonal council will decide on this.

Austerity measures in western Switzerland

The budget for canton Geneva is in the red with a deficit of CHF409.4 million. Among the measures proposed to curb the rise in costs is the suspension of the annuity (regular payment) for civil servants.

Savings measures are already included in canton Vaud’s budget. But it is expecting a deficit of CHF331 million in the coming year. The most severely affected by the cuts are state employees and the health and social sectors.

Fribourg without a budget

The Fribourg government withdrew its budget proposal on Wednesday. The canton will therefore start 2026 without a budget approved by parliament. The left-wing Social Democratic Party and staff associations had launched a referendum against the government’s restructuring programme. According to the government, the announcement of the referendum will render its budget proposal for 2026 invalid.

If the referendum is given the greenlight, citizens will vote on April 26, 2026. The Fribourg cantonal government wants to save CHF405 million over the coming years with its austerity programme. At the end of September and beginning of October, 3,000 and 4,000 people respectively took part in protests in Fribourg against the cuts to public services because of the austerity programme.

Neuchâtel, meanwhile, reported a profit of CHF14.6 million after drawing funds from its reserves. At the same time, the government decided to support companies with almost CHF8 million. This will be offset by a withdrawal from the economic reserve. This must still be voted on together with the budget.

Parliaments must confirm budgets

The two cantons with the highest revenue surpluses also have the largest planned budget increases. Canton Zug increased its budget by CHF144 million compared to the previous year and canton Bern’s rose by CHF 119 million.

On the other hand, canton Geneva saw its budget fall to CHF413.7 million. Canton Zurich is also slipping deeper into the red. Its 2026 budget shows a deficit of CHF139 million. During the previous year, the deficit amounted to CHF102 million.

The budgets adopted by the cantonal governments are not the final steps in the process. “They are only definitively adopted by the cantonal parliaments, usually in November or December,” said Stocker.

Translated from French by DeepL/sb

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