The federal budget for 2024 is fixed: who has to save, who can throw money out the window?

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Save, save, save. FDP Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter (59) had to convince national and state councils to spend less money over the past three weeks. They were only partially deterred. And that’s why some people may be happy that they can spend more money, even in times of great savings efforts. The overview.

• The farmers: The farmers have had the upper hand. Again. Direct payments to farmers will remain at 2023 levels, at around R2.8 billion. Keller-Sutter wanted to save almost 55 million francs here. In addition, fewer cuts will be made on sales promotion of Swiss wine, the budget for pest control and contributions to sugar beet producers. The same amount as in the current year is spent on the conservation of Swiss animal breeds and on herd protection measures. That costs 17 million francs more than the Federal Council had planned.
• Regional public transport: Parliament increases federal funding for regional passenger transport by 50 million francs compared to today. The Federal Council had proposed a reduction of 5 million francs. Transport companies will have approximately 1.134 billion francs available in the future for the planned uncovered costs.
• Jewish and Muslim communities: A sad budget item: Parliament will make 2.5 million francs more available next year for the protection of religious minorities than the Federal Council led by Karin Keller-Sutter had earmarked. The money goes to Jewish and Muslim communities.
• The VAT inspectors: Parliament creates additional positions for VAT controls for 2.1 million francs. At least something is coming in: as a result of these additional human resources, additional income of 7.5 million francs is created.
• The Equal Opportunities Office: Parliament increases the overall budget of the Federal Office for Equality in the financial planning years 2025 to 2027 compared to the Federal Council’s proposal by 1.5 million francs. The additional resources will be used to finance the violence prevention campaign.
• The army: The military may also spend more, but less quickly than planned. Switzerland should spend only one percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on national defense by 2035, and not as early as 2030. The National Council prevailed over the Council of States on this issue.

• Security at the Federal Palace: Parliament refuses to allocate an additional million francs to improve the protection of the parliament building at night and at weekends. The overall budget of the parliamentary services will be reduced accordingly compared to the Federal Council’s proposal.
• The judge: Current expenditure for the Federal Court and the Federal Administrative Court will increase less than budgeted by the Federal Council compared to 2023. In total, Parliament spends about 3 million francs less than the government wanted.
• The developing countries: The investment expenditure of the State Secretariat of Economic Affairs (Seco) for loans and investments in developing countries will remain the same next year as before. The Federal Council set aside a further 10 million francs to increase the equity of the development finance company Sifem, which Parliament rejected.
• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Parliament has reduced the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ appropriation for humanitarian actions by 10 million francs. The background is that the National Council originally wanted to withdraw the Swiss contribution of 20 million francs to the Palestinian aid organization UNRWA. However, the decision ultimately taken leaves open where the Federal Council should save money.
• The different regions of Switzerland: Parliament has halved the contribution to the regional policy fund to 12.5 million francs. The decision is a compromise. The Council of States originally wanted to approve the full 25 million francs requested by the Federal Council, while the National Council wanted to forego a deposit entirely.
• The Federal Office for the Environment: Parliament reduces the global budget of the Federal Office for the Environment (Bafu) by 1.8 million francs compared to the Federal Council’s proposal. This is about reducing personnel costs. Compared to today, this means a reduction in functional effort by 3.3 percent.

To comply with the debt brake, Parliament also had to resort to a number of tricks.

More about the budget debate

For the reconstruction of Ukraine

Cassis wants to save money for the poorest

The budget debate continues

Council of States wants compromise on UNRWA contribution

Tricks of the Council of States

De Stöckli is clawing at the debt brakes

A tough battle for money

A last-minute adjustment saves the budget

Debate about money for the army

The National Council is not impressed by the tank accident

For example, with social assistance in the field of asylum: Parliament has reduced the financing of social assistance to asylum seekers and temporarily admitted people and refugees by 30 million francs compared to the request of the Federal Council. Accordingly, the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) will have almost 1.1 billion francs available for social assistance in the asylum system next year. Compared to 2023, spending will grow less quickly. But these expenses are subject to law, writes the ‘NZZ’. If you need more money, there is probably an additional loan.

The Ukraine crisis resulted in more refugees coming to Switzerland. These costs have been assessed as ‘extraordinary’ and are therefore not included in the debt brake. A financial injection (due to the consequences of the Corona crisis) to the SBB also falls under this category.

But more was needed to meet the debt brake: Parliament wants to pay 38 million francs less to the railway infrastructure fund next year than the Federal Council had proposed. There is currently 5.9 billion francs in the fund. Given the tight financial leeway, council members were in favor of this trick to meet the debt brake requirements.

Switzerland now has a budget for the coming year. But soon the discussions start again. From 2025 there is a risk of deficits of 2 to 3 billion francs. Then it’s time again: save, save, save. (SDA/brother)

Source:Blick

Livingstone

I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.