The best kept secret of modern government is taxes. Where are you from? Where are you going? Who pays how much? And what do you get in return?
Once upon a time, taxes were a tribute from conquered peoples to conquerors. In the Middle Ages, they were raised from time to time, due to exceptional circumstances, mainly in case of war. It was only much later that the modern fiscal state as we know it today emerged from the idea of a permanent state of emergency. He is always short of money and wants what he needs. And citizens give as much as they should. Taxes are obligatory payments that are unconditionally due to the state.
Benjamin Franklin, the founding father of the United States, wrote in a letter to his French friend in November 1789: “Nothing is certain in this world but death and taxes.” The tone of the words oscillates somewhere between resignation and sarcasm, but of course Franklin is right.
Since the revolutionaries in France and the independence fighters in the US have done their work, it has become clear to all citizens of the new nations that the tax breaks reserved for the nobility and clergy have been abolished. All citizens who wish to be such must, to the best of their ability, contribute to society. a matter of honor. Or is it still not?
In Switzerland, a good 25% of taxpayers do not pay federal tax – more than now. Meanwhile, the top 10% of people pay more than 80% of federal taxes. The ratio is striking because the federal tax, introduced in 1940 as a war tax and then perpetuated, is particularly progressive (if you take all income taxes, the top 10% in Switzerland pay a little over 50%). Whoever earns more pays not only absolutely, but also relatively more – tax pain should be the same for all citizens.
Progressive taxation is a hot topic—Karl Marx passionately called for it in The Communist Manifesto. In Switzerland, at least, it is democratically legalized. At the same time, the tax system that excludes 25 percent of taxpayers from paying the mandatory tax appears to be outdated. Because, on the one hand, the word “compulsory payment” means “coercion”, and some would like to give less. But at the same time, there is also a “gift” in this word – one should not underestimate the willingness of people to give. Only the one who not only takes, but also gives, even a little, is worthy of being a citizen in the full sense.
René Scheuil is a philosopher and director of the Swiss Institute for Economic Policy (IWP) in Lucerne. He writes to Blick every second Monday.