The case

The Swiss Federal Council has rejected the Young Socialists’s initiative on inheritance tax without submitting a counter-proposal.

Source: Neue Zürcher Zeitung e-paper, 13 December 2024;  Radio SRF1 news, 13 December 2024; Botschaft

The commentary

Introducing the new law on inheritance tax might affect around 2,500 people though the Swiss Federal Council did point out that moving to a different country would not be required before the referendung as levying an exit tax is out of the question.

If the initiative is approved, this will affect almost the whole of the tax base, who would most probably emigrate – which, in turn, would entail a decline in revenue instead of creating additional revenue.

This is the conclusion that has to be drawn in the case of the Young Socialists’s initiative for a national inheritance tax and gift tax of 50 % on assets exceeding CHF 50 million. Although such a massive tax is likely to face resistance at the ballot box, the submission of the initiative has already made those potentially affected nervous and prompted them to stretch out their feelers in search for alternatives.

Parliamentary deliberations are next on the agenda. The referendum has been planned for November 2025.

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