{"id":39336,"date":"2025-04-10T17:06:26","date_gmt":"2025-04-10T15:06:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fidulex.ch\/?p=39336"},"modified":"2025-04-28T14:30:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T12:30:34","slug":"towards-individual-taxation-in-switzerland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fidulex.ch\/en\/towards-individual-taxation-in-switzerland\/","title":{"rendered":"Towards Individual Taxation in Switzerland"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Individual Taxation: Definition<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In Switzerland, individual taxation<\/strong> is a system that allows each person to be taxed separately. This means that each person declares his or her own income and pays his or her own tax accordingly, while taking family circumstances into account.<\/p>

This is not currently the case for married couples in Switzerland, who are taxed together as if they were a single person.\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Current Context<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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At present, Swiss married couples are taxed together<\/strong> for direct federal income and wealth tax. This system adds together the incomes of both spouses and then subjects them to a progressive tax scale.\u00a0<\/p>

This measure is seen by many as unfair, which is why it is often referred to as the \"penalization of marriage\"<\/strong> since married couples often end up paying more tax than couples who aren't married.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Married Couples Tax Initiative Fails<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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In view of all these disadvantages, an initiative<\/a> <\/strong>was launched to reduce the tax penalization of spouses in Switzerland. The proposal was to keep taxation on a joint basis, while ensuring that spouses were not disadvantaged in comparison with cohabiting couples.<\/p>

This initiative was refused<\/strong> by the Federal Council, which instead wishes to introduce the 2027 reform, which would eliminate the calculation on a common basis, preferring individual taxation, regardless of marital status.\u00a0<\/p>

But without a new proposal to offset the financial losses the state would incur, the initiative was rejected.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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2027 Reform<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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To remedy the \"penalization of marriage\", the Federal Council has presented an indirect counter-proposal to the initiative on taxes for married couples. With this reform<\/a>, all Swiss citizens, whether they are married (or in a registered partnership) or not, will have to file their own tax returns, moving Switzerland towards a system based on individual taxation<\/strong> extended beyond single or cohabiting people.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Deductions for Children<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The Federal Council has adjusted its counter-proposal to limit tax losses to one billion francs. Instead of a deduction of 12,000 francs per child, as initially planned, the ceiling will be set at 10,700 francs<\/strong>. The aim of this measure is to preserve a certain budgetary balance while taking into account support for families.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Joint Statement<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Even if Switzerland moves to individual taxation, the counter-proposal still requires married couples to file a joint tax return<\/strong>. This decision was taken in particular to facilitate the payment of deductions for couples with children.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Tax Scale<\/h3>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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However, the change in the tax scale was rejected. As we have seen, the 2027 reform will inevitably cost the state money. Changing the scale would have enabled the Confederation to halve the losses of a billion francs.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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