The Centre keeps tax initiative despite vote for individual taxation

The Centre party is pressing ahead with its initiative to keep married couples jointly assessed for federal tax, despite voters approving individual taxation in March, SRF reported. Party president Philipp Matthias Bregy says putting the proposal to a vote is a legitimate democratic step.

The initiative, titled “Yes to fair federal taxes for married couples”, will go to a vote on November 29. It would retain joint assessment for direct federal tax, but does not specify exactly how the system would work. Under the individual taxation model approved in March, each person files a separate tax return.

Bregy said nearly 120,000 people had signed the initiative so it could be put to a public vote. He also said voters had not been given the chance to choose between the two models. A GFS poll on the November 29 votes gives supporters of the Centre’s initiative a lead. Bregy said the issue was important for married people, particularly those who perform care work.

Political scientist Georg Lutz of the University of Lausanne said the party’s insistence on the initiative could conflict with its efforts to appeal to younger and more urban voters. The Centre, formerly the Christian Democratic People’s Party, changed its name and dropped the letter C as it sought to broaden its appeal. Lutz said its potential for growth lies in the political centre, while some of its traditionally conservative supporters in former strongholds could be tempted by the Swiss People’s Party.

The dispute also comes as the Centre and the Free Democratic Party compete for third place in Swiss politics and seek to attract moderate voters. A poll in mid-October showed the race between them was close. Lutz said both parties had lost voters over several decades and had yet to find a strong growth strategy. The Centre also wants to take the FDP’s second seat on the Federal Council.

If the initiative is rejected, the Centre could face two setbacks on the issue of the tax treatment of married couples shortly before next year’s national elections. But Lutz said the tax debate was too abstract to determine the parties’ contest and would likely be forgotten by many voters by then. Bregy said voting and election outcomes rarely correlate.