Pensions, Guns & Taxes

Cheese, Chocolate and Referenda. It’s all so quintessentially Swiss. This weekend sees two votes that will decide the future of taxation and pensions and the relationship of the Swiss people to guns. So what’s it all about?

This weekend the people vote on whether to make changes to the laws regarding the ownership of weapons (particularly assault rifles,) and while this may not seem much of a contentious issue (I mean who really needs an assault rifle?) it is complicated as it is bound up with Switzerland’s relationship with the European Union. Failure to agree to the deal struck between the Swiss government and the EU would essentially void Switzerland’s membership of the Schengen agreement. What would this mean? Passport controls on trains and at the borders and a massive headache while it gets sorted out. 

The second vote focuses on pension provision and taxation. Hurrah, i hear you cry, this sounds interesting. Well, the vote looks to reform corporate taxation, particularly for multinational companies but folks are up in arms as reform to the pension system is bound up in the same vote. Undemocratic? That is the complaint of many. It will be interesting to see which way the political wind blows.

For more info have a look at the following link.