Switzerland overwhelmingly rejected this Sunday the proposal for a 50% tax on inherited fortunes of 50 million Swiss francs ($53 million) or more, with 78% voting against, a result that even exceeded the two-thirds opposition indicated by polls.
Bankers have closely followed the vote, considering it a litmus test of interest in wealth redistribution in Switzerland, as . Switzerland is home to some of the most expensive cities in the world and concerns about the cost of living have been gaining ground in local politics.
The proposal from the youth wing of the left-wing social democrats, or JUSO, sought to fund projects to reduce the impact of climate change. “The super-rich inherit billions, we inherit crises,” they argued. Critics of the move said it could lead to an exodus of wealthy people from Switzerland, reducing overall tax revenue. The Swiss government urged voters to reject it.
Swiss citizens also rejected in a referendum changing , mandatory for men, for another “citizen” in which women were also called upon and that included work outside of security, such as climate protection or disaster prevention.
84.15% of voters said no to this proposal, according to the final count. The initiative sought to “extend the notion of security to other domains such as climate protection, food security or assistance”, but the Government and the fragmented Parliament (the conservatives have 31%; socialists, 20%; liberals and Christian Democrats, 14% each) had asked to vote against it, arguing that the army and civil protection bodies play a central role in national security.
The promoters of the organization For an Integrating Switzerland argued that Switzerland is not only threatened in the military sphere but also by cyber attacks, risks of energy shortages or climate disasters such as the landslide that this year destroyed an entire town in an alpine valley in the country.
