The left wants to get to the bottom of the next tax bill

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Internationally active groups with a turnover of more than 750 million euros must pay a minimum of 15 percent tax on their profits. Switzerland will implement this from January 1, 2024, together with the EU countries and other states.

The OECD/G20 minimum tax is to be introduced on the basis of a constitutional amendment that will be voted on by the people and the cantons at the polls on 18 June. In addition to the Bundesrat, the cantons, cities and municipalities are also behind the project. If Switzerland does not implement the OECD minimum tax, other countries may impose additional taxes on large companies in their country.

«bourgeois Buebetrickli»

But the resistance comes from the left. SP co-chair Cédric Wermuth (37) criticized the submission on Thursday to the media in Bern as “bourgeois Buebetrickli” and as “Lex Zug”. The low-taxed cantons benefited, while the majority of the population received nothing. It is a reform for the richest and the multinationals.

According to the left-wing alliance, the expected additional income of more than two billion francs per year will be unfairly distributed. This further fuels tax competition. If the deal is rejected, parliament can immediately decide on a better proposal that will benefit the entire population. “There’s still a lot of room for improvement,” Wermuth said.

“A missed opportunity”

For Pierre-Yves Maillard (55), president of the Swiss trade union federation (SGB), the reform is “a missed opportunity”. Instead of using the additional revenue at the federal and cantonal level for greater social justice, new tax breaks would be introduced, he said. “Selfishness of the canton prevented a compromise in parliament.”

SP vice-president Valérie Piller Carrard (44) also argued for improvements. The additional revenue should flow equally to the federal government and the cantons. This 50/50 approach failed in Parliament. Instead, the cantons should get 75 percent and the federal government 25 percent.

“But the federal government would need the money urgently,” Piller Carrard said — citing recently announced multibillion-dollar savings programs for the next several years. These cuts in the federal budget would have a negative impact on people’s purchasing power, SP vice president David Roth (37) pointed out.

There is a lack of money in developing countries

“You can’t bail out Credit Suisse with billions in guarantees and then fool the public that there’s no money for it,” Maillard said. The left-wing alliance calculated that half of the additional revenue could be used to fund an effective counter-proposal to the SP’s initiative for premium deductions.

The development aid organization Alliance Sud complains that the bill does not achieve the goal of more fiscal justice. “The companies keep shifting profits to Switzerland, which would benefit developing countries,” says managing director Andreas Missbach.

In the countries of the Global South, this business practice is causing great damage. “There is a lack of money for hospitals, schools and infrastructure.” More than 50 countries are threatened with national bankruptcy, while wealthy Switzerland will remain a low-tax country even with the reform. (SDA)

Source:Blick