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No more nasty surprises from the tax authorities.
Ten percent of the Swiss population have to pay their taxes because they don’t have enough money. You could prevent that. In most countries, taxes are deducted directly from income. If you then claim deductions in your tax return, you can ask for a refund of the overpaid amount.
Voluntary direct deduction
SP National Councilor Emmanuel Amoos (42) now wants to introduce this to us as well and is calling for taxes to be deducted directly from wages in the future – but only if the employee wants it too. “It is important that those who want to continue paying their taxes themselves can do so,” says Amoos.
The primary aim is to combat tax debts. But for the state, too, the current system initially means less revenue.
employer’s duty
Amoos suggests that employers must deduct taxes directly from wages. “The inspiration for this solution is the withholding tax for foreigners,” explains Amoos. For these, the employer must already account for the tax.
However, this means additional effort for employers, especially for small companies whose IT infrastructure is not prepared for this. The federal government should therefore examine whether companies should be compensated or supported if such a duty is introduced.
Not the first time
The idea that taxes should be deducted directly from wages is not new. Again and again Parliament agrees with her. Most recently, in 2014, the then SP National Councilor Margaret Kiener Nellen (69) called for such a direct deduction, which the cantons could introduce independently.
The Federal Council criticized the fact that people do not always live in the same canton in which they work and that complications would arise. In addition, he saw no guarantee that the proposal would help against tax debts.
Assessment provides the basis
The Zurich economist Ernst Fehr (66) supported the idea in 2016 with a report. With a voluntary direct deduction, tax debts would decrease: he explained, among other things, that it was not clear to newcomers or people who suddenly earned more money what that meant for tax purposes.
Amoos followed the study directly: tax deduction is direct, but voluntary and with compensation for the effort. The calculation seems to work, he was able to score points beyond party lines.
Broad support
85 National Councilors from Green Party President Balthasar Glättli (50) to Valais SVP National Councilor Michael Graber (41) have signed his request. So the starting position is better than in the last attempts.
“You can do a lot of marketing with advances,” says Amoos. But: “It is important to me that before I submit something, I know whether the idea can count on the support of the other parties.” Only then can you really change something.
The responsible committee of the National Council will discuss the initiative on Monday.