Swiss vote on taxing spouses, media licence fee, cash availability and climate fund

The SBC initiative, which aims to reduce the licence fee for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation, was the most discussed issue in this referendum campaign. swissinfo.ch

Ballot boxes are set to close at noon on Sunday. Swiss citizens are voting on a referendum, three popular initiatives and a counterproposal. The results will be out the same day.

Four national topics are at stake this weekend: a referendum against parliament’s proposal to tax married couples individually, a popular initiative aimed at lowering the public media licence fee, an initiative and a counterproposal to anchor the future of cash in the constitution, and an initiative to create a new climate fund.

The end of the ‘marriage tax penalty’?

The first topic the Swiss are voting on is a referendum against parliament’s decision to introduce individual taxation for married couples. According to the latest poll, conducted by gfs.bern for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC, Swissinfo’s parent company), in mid-February 52% of the population would have approved this major change to the Swiss tax system; 44% would have been against it; and 4% were undecided. This reflects a sharp decline in support for individual taxation in comparison to a poll in January.
 
Under the current system, married couples in Switzerland are taxed jointly based on a single tax return. With the reform approved by parliament, married couples would now be taxed in the same way as unmarried couples. Each spouse would have to fill out a separate tax return and would therefore be taxed at a rate based solely on their own income, which would break the progression of the tax rate.
 
For married couples, the total amount of tax they pay would be lower in most cases, thus erasing the so-called “marriage tax penalty”. Supporters of individual taxation argue that it would create incentives for women to increase their participation in the workforce, thereby improving their career prospects and strengthening their occupational pension entitlements.
 
Conservative parties and ten cantons opposing the parliamentary decision launched one referendum each. Both of them were successful. Opponents consider the reform to be an attack on the traditional family model. The main beneficiaries, they argue, will be married couples where both spouses are employed at a similar rate and earning similar incomes. Meanwhile, couples with a single high income would pay higher taxes, they claim. The cantons, for their part, fear significant fiscal losses and more bureaucracy. 

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

Split opinions on public service media

The SBC initiative, which aims to reduce the licence fee for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation from CHF335 ($436) to CHF200 ($260) per household, was the most discussed issue in this vote campaign. Swissinfo is also part of the SBC. According to the latest poll, conducted by gfs.bern for the SBC in mid-February, 54% of voters were against lowering the fee, 44% were in favour and 2% remained undecided.
 
The SBC initiative was launched by a committee made up of members of the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, the Swiss Trade Association and the youth section of the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party. They argue that, with the cost of living on the rise, the licence fee needs to be lowered. They also claim that SBC content is reaching fewer and fewer users, especially younger ones, and that a budget of CHF850 million ($1.1 billion) would be enough to cover the SBC’s core services.
 
The opponents of the initiative – among them the Swiss government, parliament and all governing parties except the People’s Party – consider the initiative to be dangerous. They believe it will endanger the diversity and quality of Switzerland’s public service media and underline that reliable, trustworthy information is central to Swiss democracy and national cohesion. For these opponents, the SBC is the only media organisation serving the entire country in the four national languages. Furthermore, it is not driven by commercial interests of corporate ownership.
 
The SBC initiative is the second initiative in the last decade to cut funding for public service media in Switzerland. The so-called “No Billag” initiative, which sought to abolish the licence fee entirely, was rejected by 71.6% of voters in 2018. If the current initiative fails, the licence fee will still be reduced, but from CHF335 to CHF300 per year and household, as decided by the government.

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

A future for cash – but how?

The “Cash is freedom” initiative wants to enshrine the availability of banknotes and coins in the Swiss constitution. According to a recent studyExternal link by the Swiss National Bank (SNB), the Swiss people want cash to remain available, even though they are using it less often than in the past. Therefore, it’s not a surprise that the initiative enjoys broad support. In the latest gfs.bern poll, 61% of respondents said they supported the initiative, while 36% were against it. Three percent of those surveyed were undecided.
 
The initiative was launched by a committee called the Swiss Freedom Movement, which is known for its campaigns against mandatory vaccinations. The Swiss government and parliament agree in principle with the idea of enshrining cash in the constitution, but have introduced a counterproposal.
 
If the initiative passes, the Swiss constitution will have to guarantee the availability of cash. It would spell out that the Swiss franc is the country’s national currency and that the SNB must guarantee the supply of cash. Unlike the initiative, the counterproposal uses the term “cash” rather than “coins or banknotes”, following legal principles. Also, it does not specify that the cash supply must be “sufficient”.
 
Therefore, voters can decide on two versions: the initiative itself and the counterproposal, which is supported by 70% of voters, according to the poll. They can also answer a subsidiary question: which option they would prefer if both proposals were accepted.
 
Among the major political parties, only the right-wing Swiss People’s Party backs the initiative. However, the counterproposal has support from both the House of Representatives and the Senate, plus the cantons, and the nation’s main industry associations and labour unions.

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

Slim chances for climate initiative

An initiative to create a federal fund to boost the development of renewable energies and protect the country’s biodiversity is set to fail. In the most recent gfs.bern poll, 65% of voters opposed the proposal, 31% were in favour, and 4% were undecided.
 
The Social Democratic Party and the Greens launched the initiative, which asks that 0.5% to 1% of Switzerland’s gross domestic product be invested in the country’s ecological transformation. The government and a majority in parliament reject the initiative, claiming it would be too expensive and ineffective.

>> Read more about the climate fund initiative:

A minority decides 

Swiss citizens go to the polls up to four times a year, but not everyone living in Switzerland can vote on March 8. Only Swiss citizens over the age of 18 and not under guardianship are eligible to vote on national issues. Voters can have their say either by postal ballot or in person at the ballot box. Those living abroad must register. A total of around 5.5 million people can vote – just under two-thirds of the country’s population of around nine million. 

People living in Switzerland who do not have Swiss nationality cannot vote, despite making up about a quarter of the population. 

Around half of eligible voters usually cast ballots. Over the past ten years, the annual average voter turnout has been between 41% and 57%, according to the Federal Statistical Office. In practice, this means it takes about 1.5 million votes to win. 

Votes in the cantons

National votes are not the only issues on the agenda this weekend: decisions are also being made in various cantons and municipalities. In canton Aargau, for example, an initiative launched by the youth section of the centre-right Radical-Liberal Party proposes that speed cameras be installed only in the canton with the approval of the cantonal government.

In Solothurn, voters have a say on higher family allowances, and in the city of Zurich a new mayor is being elected, as Corine Mauch is stepping down after 17 years in office.

Edited by Samuel Jaberg/gw