[ad_1]
JUSO demands that the richest percentage of the population be taxed more in favor of the lower-income population Photo: trapezoidal
National Council rejects 99 percent initiative without counterproposal
The National Council on Thursday discussed Juso’s 99 percent initiative.
The Socialist Youth initiative is officially titled “Relieve Wages, Tax Capital Fairly.” It requires that capital income in excess of a certain amount be taxed at a rate of 150 percent. The amount of the exemption will be determined by the legislature. The initiators think of 100,000 francs.
The extra income should be used to reduce taxes for people with low and middle wages, or the money should be used for social welfare. The aim of the initiative: Social justice must be established through redistribution.
Of the National Council recommends the initiative with 123 to 62 rejection votes. With the same proportion of votes, the PS and the Greens also failed in their counterproposal.
Of the Federal Council recommends the initiative without a counterproposal of rejection. The referendum was discussed in parliament for the first time on Thursday.
Social justice through tax reform
During the debate in the National Council, the SP and the Greens were the only groups that supported both the initiative and the counterproposal. The direct counterproposal states that investment income is taxed at 100 percent instead of 150 percent. This would mean that wages and investment income are taxed equally.
“If you receive 100,000 francs in salary today, you will pay taxes on 100,000 francs. If you receive 100,000 francs in stock dividends, you will pay taxes on 60,000 francs. We want to adapt this system ”, explained Tamara Funiciello (SP / BE).
Tamara Funiciello, former president of JUSO Switzerland, speaks at the presentation of the 99 percent initiative in Bern. Photo: trapezoidal
According to Cédric Wermuth (SP / AG), this inequality in the tax system is unfair and causes the gap between rich and poor to widen: “Because we have a tax system that does not focus on human labor, but instead privileges the earnings of capital, the inequality between top and bottom is also increasing in our country. “
That should change for the one percent of the Swiss population who pay the most taxes, said Katharina Prelicz-Huber (Greens / ZH): “One to two percent of the population in Switzerland has as much wealth as 99 or 98 percent. percent of the population. In Switzerland we don’t have a money problem, but a distribution problem. ”With the right tax system, Switzerland could revise its deficits in social services.
Formal and material defects
FDP, center parliamentary group, SVP and GLP see it differently. Petra Gössi (FDP / SZ) pointed out the “formal weaknesses” of the squads. The initiative failed to define the terms “capital income” and “tax exemption.” The design of the redistribution will also remain open: “Only when these terms are defined will it be possible to really answer the question of whether only one percent of the population is affected by this initiative or not.”
However, Gössi did not only raise formal criticism: “The initiative wants to drive a gap between the poor and the rich. The moral thesis is put forward that income from capital is bad and income from work is good. “
Leo Müller (CVP / LU) argued that the lack of definition of terms in the initiative meant that voters did not even know what they were voting on. The initiative would also affect SMEs that create jobs. And finally, if the initiative is accepted, the fiscal sovereignty of the cantons would be affected. Müller’s vote was the only one from the center group in the entire debate.
SVP does not see the need to act
For the SVP, the initiative wants to solve a problem that does not even exist. In an international comparison, income from taxes and transfer payments is evenly distributed in Switzerland, said Thomas Burgherr (SVP / AG). The volume of redistribution is already significant today. In particular, social transfers such as AHV or premium reductions, as well as progressive taxes on income and wealth would contribute to this redistribution.
Green Liberals also showed little enthusiasm for the 99 percent initiative. None of the 38 announced individual speakers were green-liberal, sticking with the group statement from Kathrin Bertschy (GLP / BE).
There is certainly room for improvement in the Swiss tax system and the gap between rich and poor is actually widening, he says, but adds: “A tax of one and a half times is not appropriate.”
The Council of States will then debate the referendum. (sda)
