November 30 vote: Swiss set to reject new inheritance tax 

Civil defence participants on duty: if the civic service initiative is adopted, such offers will be more broadly supported. Keystone / Ti-Press / Samuel Golay

Ahead of a nationwide vote on November 30, a survey shows the public’s clear rejection of an initiative seeking a new tax on big inheritances and scepticism towards a proposal calling for civic service for all

If the proposal to tax the super-rich in Switzerland on their inheritance and use the money to tackle the climate crisis had been put to the vote on October 10, it would have been rejected.

Meanwhile, an initiative to replace compulsory military service with “citizen service” for the benefit of the community and the environment, also extended to women, would be tight.

These are the main findings of the first of two polls ahead of the November 30 ballot, carried out by the gfs.bern research institute on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Swissinfo’s parent company.

The citizen service initiative “For a committed Switzerland”External link, which proposes a radical reform of military service, would be supported by 48% of voters, while 46% are against and 6% are undecided, the survey shows.

Swiss citizens living abroad gave fairly similar results. But overall, 49% opposed the civic service proposal.

Uncertain Swiss Abroad

The citizen service initiative calls for all Swiss nationals to perform service for the benefit of the community and the environment. Unlike the current system, this obligation would apply to women as well as men. The initiative also provides for parliament to extend it to non-Swiss nationals. 

At present, compulsory service is limited to the army, civil defence and civilian service. Those behind the initiative want it opened to other forms of contribution to society. 

Read this explainer article to find out more about the new civic service initiative.

Members of the Swiss diaspora are unclear whether they would also be affected by the proposal.

Compulsory military service already applies to “every Swiss citizen” – similar wording to the initiative text. The initiative does not make any clear exceptions for the Swiss Abroad. The situation of the Swiss Abroad is currently dealt with on a practical basis and they are not obliged to serve.

“The situation of the Swiss Abroad will not actually change compared to today,” Noémi Roten, president of the initiative committee, told Swissinfo.

The pattern points to a no vote

Although the initiative’s chances remain intact, the situation does not look very positive. The current gfs.bern poll resembles a stalemate, but popular initiatives generally tend to lose support over a vote campaign.

This well-known pattern is likely to make it hard for the citizen service initiative to maintain its current level of support over the next five weeks. If this happens, a no vote “would be likely”, said gfs.bern.

The pollsters believe that arguments against the initiative are also gaining more weight among the public. “This reinforces existing doubts about the proposal,” the institute said.

It is backed by supporters of the centrist Liberal Green Party, the left-wing Social Democratic Party and Green Party. The clearest votes against it come from the ranks of the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party.

New inheritance tax faces a no vote

Participants at a meeting of the youth chapter of the Social Democratic Party in Bern in February 2025. Keystone / Peter Klaunzer

The inheritance tax initiative launched by the youth chapter of the Social Democratic Party is clearly heading for a no vote. In all, 49% of respondents who took part in the survey said they were definitely against it. Another 13% are “somewhat against” the plan. Only 38% are in favour.

Supporters of the Social Democrats and the Greens are its biggest fans.

The “For a social climate policy”External link proposal, commonly known as the inheritance tax initiative, aims to introduce an inheritance tax on very large fortunes.

Specifically, the text calls for a 50% tax to be levied whenever someone bequeaths or gifts more than CHF50 million ($63 million) to their descendants. The tax would be payable on the amount exceeding this CHF50 million. The funds generated would be used to combat climate change.

Read this explainer article to find out more about the new inheritance tax initiative.

However, around two-thirds of those surveyed in the latest poll doubt the effectiveness of the planned tax. They fear that the wealthy could avoid it or move abroad. According to the survey, there are similar concerns that people who inherit businesses could run into liquidity problems and family firms face difficulties.

Sceptical Swiss Abroad

Among Swiss respondents living abroad, 57% said they rejected the plan. This compares with a higher percentage (62%) in Switzerland.

The campaigners’ argument that the rich should contribute more to climate protection is widely supported. The initiative also enjoys a certain resonance among women and young people, as well as in Ticino.

But the vote is likely to follow a similar path to that of many previous popular initiatives.

“Perception is likely to shift further away from the definition of the problem towards the weaknesses and risks of the solution approach. Experience shows that this will lead to a further increase in the no vote,” writes gfs.bern.

Vote poll

For the first survey in the run-up to the federal votes on November 30, 2025, the gfs.bern institute polled 14,785 voters between October 6-20. The statistical margin of error is +/-2.8 percentage points.

Edited by Samuel Jaberg; adapted from German by Simon Bradley/ts