Swiss voters reject cuts to licence fee

The SBC initiative sought to reduce the annual licence fee for the national broadcaster from CHF335 ($431) to CHF200 and exempt all businesses. Keystone / Jean-Christophe Bott

The Swiss have dismissed a proposal to reduce funding for the television and radio licence fee of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). On Sunday they also voted on a shift to individual taxation for married couples, the creation of a climate fund, and anchoring cash in the constitution.

In all 62% of voters rejected media licence fee cuts, 71% rejected a climate fund, 54% accepted individual taxation for married couples, and 73% accepted a counterproposal to the cash initiative. Turnout was 56%.

“The outcome is a victory for the Swiss government. Voters followed them on all national vote issues,” commented Lukas Golder, a political scientist at the gfs.bern research institute. “It’s a sign of trust.” The clear ‘no’ trend to reducing the media licence fee and ‘yes’ to individual taxation is based on strong participation in cities, which tend to lean to the left, he said.

The “SBC initiativeExternal link”, backed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, the Swiss Trade Association (SGV/USAM) and the youth wing of the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party, had sought to cut the annual media licence fee from CHF335 ($431) to CHF200 and exempt all businesses. Swissinfo is part of the SBC which funds half its budget via the licence fee.

On Sunday the SBC said it was pleased about the broad support from “all parts of society”. In a statement SBC director-general Susanne Wille said the result of the vote was an obligation to do everything possible to “continue to accompany the public with a diverse and high-quality programme in everyday life”.

Despite the clear no, Urs Furrer, director of the Swiss Trade Association, told Swiss public television SRF that another attempt would be made to at least abolish fees for businesses. He didn’t want to elaborate on the form this would take. 

Supporters had argued Switzerland’s licence fee – the highest in the world – must fall as living costs rise. They say the SBC should refocus on its core public service mission.

Opponents had warned that such cuts would severely reduce programming and regional coverage, undermining the diversity and quality of public-service media. They stressed the SBC’s unique role serving all four national languages and its independence from commercial ownership.

This was the second people’s initiative in the past decade aiming to cut SBC funding. The “No Billag” initiative to abolish the licence fee entirely was rejected by 71% of voters in 2018. Although the proposal was rejected on Sunday, the licence fee will still be reduced to CHF300 per household by 2029 after a government decision.

>> Read more in our explainer on the SBC initiative:

The end of the ‘marriage tax penalty’?

Swiss voters also decided on a long-running issue: the introduction of individual – rather than joint – taxation for married couples. After a vote campaign that suggested a tight race, ultimately the reformExternal link was accepted on Sunday by 54% of citizens.

Until now, couples in Switzerland have filed joint tax returns, combining the incomes and assets of both spouses. Depending on their income split, and due to progressive rates, they paid more or less than unmarried couples. Now each spouse will now file separately – a move which should at least in most cases reduce the tax bill and scrap the so-called ‘marriage penalty’.

Backers of the move argued that individual taxation would spur women – who often have part-time jobs – to work more; this would also help to ease the general shortage of skilled labour, they argued. The joint model also stemmed from a time when women’s incomes were seen as an ‘add-on’ to that of their husbands. As such, the shift is a “milestone for equality and prosperity”, Kathrin Bertschy from the Liberal Green Party told SRF on Sunday.

Critics, who launched two referendums against the reform, said it undermines the traditional family model and mainly benefits dual-income over single-income households, especially when high incomes are involved. Various cantons – who now have until 2032 to implement the reform – also warned of fiscal losses and a hefty administrative burden in processing the new tax returns.

Meanwhile the story might not be over: another pending initiative, backed by the Centre Party, also aims to scrap the ‘marriage penalty’, but in a different way – and without getting rid of joint taxation. On Sunday, Centre leader Philipp Matthias Bregy continued to promote his party’s initiative; what would happen if voters were to later accept it, after having backed individual taxation on Sunday, is unclear.

>> For more details, check out our explainer on individual taxation:

Cash in the constitution

The clearest result on Sunday involved money, at least symbolically: a parliament-backed counterproposal to the “Cash is freedomExternal link” initiative was accepted by 73% of voters and all 26 cantons – meaning cash will now be anchored in the federal constitution.

The initiative was launched by the Swiss Freedom Movement, a group known for campaigning against mandatory vaccinations and 5G. With cash, it touched a nerve: while many Swiss – like in other countries – use less and less cash for purchases, and more and more cards and payment apps, most are still strongly attached to notes and coins, which they don’t want to see disappear.

Government and a majority in parliament agreed with the aim of the initiative, but put forward a modified text, claiming the original wording was imprecise. According to the counterproposal, the constitution now specifies that the Swiss currency is the franc, and that the Swiss National Bank (SNB) is mandated to ensure its supply – an addition widely seen as symbolic, and which will have “no practical impact”, as the government wrote before the vote.

For his part, Richard Koller, the head of the Swiss Freedom Movement, labelled the outcome on Sunday a “success” – even though his initial text was rejected by 54% of voters (citizens had their say on both the initiative and the counterproposal). The fact that cash is now in the constitution is the important thing, he told SRF. The fact that the campaign was driven by a small group – without major political backing – also marked a “victory for direct democracy”, he claimed.

>> Here is our explainer on the “Cash is freedom” initiative:

Climate fund flop

An initiativeExternal link to create a federal fund to boost the development of renewable energies and protect the country’s biodiversity also clearly failed; 71% of voters were against the climate fund initiative. The proposal failed to pass in all 26 cantons, including urban regions.

Unlike the other proposals being decided on Sunday, left-wing and Green parties were unable to capitalise on increased mobilisation, according to Lukas Golder of the gfs.bern research institute.

Launched by the left-wing Social Democratic Party and the Greens, the initiative called for 0.5-1% of Switzerland’s GDP a year – roughly CHF 4–8 billion (2024 figure) – to be invested in climate and nature protection and in expanding renewable energies, including solar power.

The government and a parliamentary majority argued the plan was too costly and would have limited impact, noting Switzerland already spends about CHF2 billion a year on climate and energy measures and CHF600 million on biodiversity.

Centre-right opponents hailed Sunday’s result, calling it a message against new public spending. Fabio Regazzi of the Centre Party said voters had rejected “unbridled spending” and backed a more targeted climate policy. People’s Party lawmaker Manfred Bühler called the fund “delusional”, arguing decarbonisation must proceed “at a bearable pace”.

Initiative supporters meanwhile lamented a “missed opportunity”.

“Inaction is not an option,” said the Green Party in a statement. “The centre-right majority in parliament and the Federal Council must now assume their responsibilities and show how they intend to put Swiss climate policy on the right track to achieving the net-zero target decided by the population.”

Despite this being the third climate proposal rejected since 2025, left-wing leaders reject the idea of public fatigue. Lisa Mazzone, president of the Green Party, argued that the climate remains a top voter concern and that the result reflected objections to the chosen instrument, not to climate action.

>> Read more about the climate fund initiative:

Edited by Reto Gysi von Wartburg