Swiss vote on citizenship rights and tax breaks
- 7 years ago
The people of Switzerland are voting on Sunday in a referendum on relaxing strict citizenship rules.
The ballot is intended to simplify and speed up the procedure of naturalisation for people who were born in country but who do not automatically qualify for citizenship.
It applies to around 25,000 people whose families moved to Switzerland decades ago. They are mostly Italians but also from other countries including Turkey and the Balkans.
The so-called “third-generation foreigners” currently have to go through the same procedure as immigrants, including tests and interviews by officials.
A majority of the Swiss parliament supports the changes, but opponents have raised the spectre of “Islamisation” with provocative posters – one showing the outline of a woman in a burka with the words “Unrestricted naturalisation? NO”.
The populist Swiss People’s Party has said there has been too much “mass naturalization” in recent years, claiming people have been let in “who are not integrated”.
An even more provocative image appeared on the website of the party’s youth wing. It shows the silhouette of a man holding a rifle and the line “Islamists with a Swiss passport?”
Opinion polls show the changes are likely to be approved. Many Swiss had already used postal votes over the last three weeks.
Swiss vote on citizenship after anti-Muslim campaign AJEnglish #switzerland https://t.co/w0nF8S0u2m— Grahame Lucas (GrahameLucas) February 12, 2017
Tax breaks
Corporate tax reform is also on the ballot. People are being asked to vote on the abolition of a long-standing tax break that has attracted thousands of companies to Switzerland.
Instead firms will get tax breaks on research and development (R&D) in Switzerland as well as profits from patents developed there and other deductions linked to shares.
Opponents say the reforms overall will lead to lower tax revenue, and fear the public will bear the brunt through cuts in public services or higher personal taxes.
The federal government has pledged to give cantons an extra 1.1 billion Swiss francs (1.03 billion euros) to help cover expected budget shortfalls.
The stakes are high for Switzerland, already coming to terms with the end its long-cherished tradition of banking secrecy. If multinationals pull out, Switzerland’s economy could suffer.
On Sunday, Switzerland will hold a high-stakes referendum on adoption of a unified corporate tax system https://t.co/8AZ5CAnIwr RalphAtkins— HPS in Europe (HPSInsight_Eur) February 6, 2017
The ballot is intended to simplify and speed up the procedure of naturalisation for people who were born in country but who do not automatically qualify for citizenship.
It applies to around 25,000 people whose families moved to Switzerland decades ago. They are mostly Italians but also from other countries including Turkey and the Balkans.
The so-called “third-generation foreigners” currently have to go through the same procedure as immigrants, including tests and interviews by officials.
A majority of the Swiss parliament supports the changes, but opponents have raised the spectre of “Islamisation” with provocative posters – one showing the outline of a woman in a burka with the words “Unrestricted naturalisation? NO”.
The populist Swiss People’s Party has said there has been too much “mass naturalization” in recent years, claiming people have been let in “who are not integrated”.
An even more provocative image appeared on the website of the party’s youth wing. It shows the silhouette of a man holding a rifle and the line “Islamists with a Swiss passport?”
Opinion polls show the changes are likely to be approved. Many Swiss had already used postal votes over the last three weeks.
Swiss vote on citizenship after anti-Muslim campaign AJEnglish #switzerland https://t.co/w0nF8S0u2m— Grahame Lucas (GrahameLucas) February 12, 2017
Tax breaks
Corporate tax reform is also on the ballot. People are being asked to vote on the abolition of a long-standing tax break that has attracted thousands of companies to Switzerland.
Instead firms will get tax breaks on research and development (R&D) in Switzerland as well as profits from patents developed there and other deductions linked to shares.
Opponents say the reforms overall will lead to lower tax revenue, and fear the public will bear the brunt through cuts in public services or higher personal taxes.
The federal government has pledged to give cantons an extra 1.1 billion Swiss francs (1.03 billion euros) to help cover expected budget shortfalls.
The stakes are high for Switzerland, already coming to terms with the end its long-cherished tradition of banking secrecy. If multinationals pull out, Switzerland’s economy could suffer.
On Sunday, Switzerland will hold a high-stakes referendum on adoption of a unified corporate tax system https://t.co/8AZ5CAnIwr RalphAtkins— HPS in Europe (HPSInsight_Eur) February 6, 2017