(MENAFN- Swissinfo) A majority of Swiss voters both at home and abroad look set to reject the civic duty and inheritance tax initiatives on November 30, according to a new survey. This content was published on November 19, 2025 - 06:00 5 minutes

As a correspondent at the Federal Palace for SWI swissinfo, I report on federal politics for the Swiss Abroad. After studying at the Academy of Journalism and Media at the University of Neuchâtel, my career path initially took me to various regional media, working in the editorial offices of Journal du Jura, Canal 3 and Radio Jura bernois. Since 2015, I have been working in the multilingual editorial department of SWI swissinfo, where I continue to practise my profession with passion.

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The youth wing of the left-wing Social Democratic Party could suffer a crushing defeat in the national vote on November 30 that proposes to tax the super-rich in Switzerland on their inheritance and use the money to tackle the climate crisis.

According to a second poll conducted by the gfs research institute on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), Swissinfo's parent company, the inheritance tax initiative, which was already struggling in a first poll, has lost further ground.

With just over ten days to go before the decisive vote, 68% of the electorate is against the text. The“no” camp has thus gained six percentage points in the space of a month. Those who support the initiative now represent just 30% of the electorate. The remaining 2% are still undecided.

The proposal does not appeal to the Swiss Abroad, either, even though they tend to vote more in favour of measures to protect the environment than the Swiss back home. In all, 64% of the Swiss Abroad are against the plan, 33% support it and 3% are undecided.

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The initiative 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.

However, the poll shows that this idea does not convince anyone outside the ranks of the left-wing Social Democrats and Green Party. More than two-thirds of the electorate fear that people inheriting a business will not have enough cash to pay the tax and will be forced to sell it. This is the argument that carries the most weight.

For the second survey in the run-up to the federal votes on November 30, 2025, gfs polled 12,939 voters between 5 and 13 November. The statistical margin of error is +/-2.8 percentage points.

A similar proportion doubt the effectiveness of such a tax, believing that the wealthy could easily circumvent it by leaving Switzerland.

But a majority of those questioned continue to believe that the ultra-rich should contribute more to climate protection, since they are responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions.

“Opposition to the initiative was formed early on and has become even stronger over the space of a month,” said gfs political scientist Martina Mousson. In her view, the campaign has shifted the focus from the problem raised by the initiative to the difficulties that the proposed solution would pose.“All the indicators point to a popular rejection of the initiative,” said the political scientist.

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