What's On The Agenda For Voters On June 18, 2023

Nearly nine months have passed since the last federal voting day, in September 2022. This is an unusually large gap in the history of Swiss democracy, due above all to delays in legislative work over the past years, as authorities focused on managing the Covid crisis.

After this lull, voters will decide on June 18 on a question as important as it is complex: how to tax the profits of large international corporations. The reform, set in motion by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), seeks to bring about greater tax equity worldwide, by enforcing a minimum tax rate of 15% on multinational companies.

To introduce this minimum tax, Switzerland, which is a member of the OECD, must amend its constitution. Today, 21 of the 26 Swiss cantons apply tax rates that are below the requisite 15%.

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This content was published on Apr 18, 2023 Apr 18, 2023 On June 18, Swiss voters will decide on new corporate tax rules which aim to boost tax equity around the world.

The federal government, parliament and cantonal governments all support the reform. It is in any case unavoidable, so at the very least the tax base should be kept in the country, says Monika Rühl, CEO of the Swiss Business Federation economiesuisse. A“no” vote would simply result in the tax money flowing abroad, she warns.

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This content was published on May 9, 2023 May 9, 2023 A 'yes' to the OECD minimum tax should ensure that the additional tax revenue stays in Switzerland, says supporter Monika Rühl.

For left-wingers, however, the model chosen to distribute the additional revenues – which favours cantons such as Zug and Basel City where many multinationals are based – will only lead to greater tax competition within the country. Social Democratic parliamentarian Fabian Molina hopes that a“no” vote will send the process back to the drawing board, providing a chance to draw up a fairer bill.

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This content was published on May 9, 2023 May 9, 2023 A "no" to the OECD minimum tax would allow for a fairer version of this legislative proposal, says the Social Democratic Party.

Even if this minimum tax rate were approved at the ballot box, Switzerland would not shed its reputation as a tax haven overnight. For those seeking tax justice, only a global average rate of around 25% would really discourage companies from shifting their profits in search of the lowest rate.

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This content was published on Apr 17, 2023 Apr 17, 2023 Will the minimum corporate tax rate finally put Switzerland's shady reputation as a tax haven behind it?

On June 18, Swiss citizens will also cast their votes in a referendum tabled by the conservative right against a the new climate law , which was adopted by the parliament last autumn as a counter-proposal to the so-called Glacier Initiative.

The new law incorporated the main objective of the initiative – which its instigators have since withdrawn – namely for Switzerland to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The text makes provision for CHF2 billion ($2.25 billion) in financial support over ten years to replace gas and oil heating systems with more climate-friendly systems. However, it drops the proposed taxes that prompted voters to reject the new CO2 law in June 2021.

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This content was published on Apr 13, 2023 Apr 13, 2023 Should Switzerland achieve climate neutrality by 2050? On June 18 the Swiss people vote on the new climate law. What's at stake?

All the country's major parties, barring the right-wing Swiss People's Party, are in favour of the new law. They believe it will effectively protect the climate, while enabling Switzerland to free itself from fossil fuels and become more energy independent. In addition, investments in innovative technologies and processes will give a boost to the Swiss economy and create work, as Radical-Liberal parliamentarian Jacqueline de Quattro explains.

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This content was published on May 1, 2023 May 1, 2023 The new climate law will help to reduce dependence on energy imports, argues Radical-Liberal parliamentarian Jacqueline de Quattro.

The Swiss People's Party, which launched the referendum – and is the largest party at the national level – has called the new law an“electricity guzzler”. Climate neutrality by 2050, the party argues, would effectively mean banning petrol, diesel, heating oil and gas. As a result, electricity needs would grow and household bills rise by several thousand francs a year, and this in the midst of an energy crisis, warns People's Party parliamentarian Michael Graber.

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This content was published on May 1, 2023 May 1, 2023 The new climate law will involve massive costs for Switzerland while having virtually no global impact, says Swiss People's Party's Michael Graber.

Covid-19 is already ancient history for most Swiss. The government lifted the last sanitary measures a little over a year ago, and in everyday life the number of people wearing masks on public transport can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Nonetheless, Swiss voters are being asked to decide – for the third time – on the law governing measures to control the pandemic.

The referendum, tabled by two citizens' movements opposed to the measures, above all targets the legal provisions governing the issuing of Covid certificates and the SwissCovid contract-tracing application. Its chances of success at the ballot box are, however, slim: in June 2021, 60.2% of the publicexternal link voted in favour of the Covid-19 law in a first referendum; and in November 2021, 62% of votersexternal link supported the law after a tense campaign and numerous demonstrations.

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This content was published on May 3, 2023 May 3, 2023 On June 18, the Swiss people will vote for the third time on the Covid-19 law. A world record.

Translated from French by Julia Bassam.