Swiss voters will decide four federal measures on November 29, including a proposal to help finance the new 13th monthly payment under the state pension system. The ballot will also cover a revision of the law governing war materiel exports, the Centre Party’s proposal to restore joint taxation for married couples and an initiative to ban most fireworks.
The two popular initiatives—one to ban most fireworks and the other to restore joint taxation for married couples—reached the ballot after neither was withdrawn within the statutory period following Parliament’s recommendations during the summer session. The proposal to raise VAT to help finance the 13th AHV payment is subject to a mandatory referendum because it requires a constitutional amendment. The fourth measure is an optional referendum seeking to overturn Parliament’s decision to ease restrictions on the export and re-export of military equipment.
Centre Party seeks to reverse individual taxation
The Centre Party wants to overturn voters’ decision in March to introduce individual taxation for married couples. Its initiative would enshrine joint taxation for the federal direct tax in the constitution while seeking to eliminate the so-called marriage penalty.
Rather than taxing all married couples under a single system, the proposal would require the tax authorities to calculate taxes under both the joint and individual methods and apply whichever produces the lower bill. The Federal Council and Parliament oppose the initiative.
Fireworks ban returns to voters
The second initiative, backed by animal-welfare groups, seeks to ban almost all fireworks to reduce noise, pollution and harm to people, animals and the environment.
The proposal would prohibit virtually all pyrotechnics, while allowing cantons to grant exemptions for major events. The Federal Council and Parliament also oppose this initiative. Parliament had attempted to craft a more limited counterproposal aimed at reducing the nuisance caused by firecrackers, but it failed during the final votes of the summer session.
VAT rise to fund the 13th state pension payment
Voters will also decide whether to amend the constitution to raise value-added tax by 0.4 percentage points to help finance the 13th monthly payment under Switzerland’s state pension system, which will begin to be paid from December 1. Because the proposal requires a constitutional amendment, it must win a double majority of both voters and cantons. Parliament recently rejected a parallel increase of 0.2 percentage points in payroll contributions, leaving VAT as the sole funding source, in line with the Federal Council’s preference.
The government estimates that the 13th pension payment will cost CHF 4.2bn in 2026, rising to around CHF 4.5bn by 2030 and CHF 5.4bn by 2040.
The standard VAT rate would rise from 8.1% to 8.5%. The reduced rate would remain unchanged at 2.6%, while the special rate for accommodation would increase from 3.8% to 4%. Together, the changes are expected to raise around CHF 1.5bn a year.
That will not be enough to secure the long-term finances of the fund. The Federal Council has already outlined additional funding options in its 2030 reform proposals, including a further VAT increase or a combination of higher VAT and payroll contributions.
Referendum on arms exports
The fourth federal vote concerns a referendum against legislation easing restrictions on the export and re-export of arms. Unlike the constitutional measures, it requires only a simple majority of voters. The referendum was launched by an alliance including the Socialist Party, the Greens, the Evangelical People’s Party of Switzerland and around 20 civil-society organisations.
Opponents argue that the reform creates broad exemptions allowing exports to around 20 countries, including the United States, while continuing to prohibit arms deliveries to Ukraine. They also note that Parliament is seeking to loosen the rules only a few years after the 2022 entry into force of the indirect counterproposal to the “Corrective Initiative”, which tightened export restrictions. Under the current law, arms exports are prohibited to countries involved in armed conflict or responsible for serious human-rights violations.
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