Swiss committee seeks to end tax disadvantage for married couples

A cross-party committee has presented an initiative to end what it calls the tax disadvantage faced by married couples, SRF reported. The proposal would preserve joint tax returns for spouses, unlike the individual taxation system already approved by voters.

The initiative would require married couples to pay no more in direct federal tax than unmarried couples in a comparable economic situation. Its supporters said at a news conference in Bern that the proposal offers a fair and simple solution and that the tax system should not favour particular ways of life.

Parliament would have three years to implement the proposed constitutional article. If it fails to do so, the Federal Council would have to introduce a transitional arrangement under which married couples pay whichever is lower: the amount calculated jointly or under an alternative calculation.

Voters will decide on the initiative on November 29, 2026. The individual taxation system was approved in a vote in the spring.