For the sake of the future, the Swiss are willing to give more of their money
As Swissinfo.ch reports, in September 2017, citizens of this country will have to vote in a referendum on increasing the value-added tax, the proceeds of which will go to finance insurance pension payments (under AHV/AVS, or the basic state pension insurance).
In the canton of Zurich, the possibility of reducing the taxable base of the cantonal tax by the amount a taxpayer spends on commuting from home to work was proposed to be limited to 5,000 francs per year. The goal is to increase tax inflows into the cantonal treasury.
Surprisingly, citizens do not always make decisions in referendums based on the interests of their wallets. For example, three years ago, the Swiss agreed to limit the 'fiscal deduction', i.e., the reduction of the taxable base by the amount of transportation costs, to 3,000 francs per year at the federal level. This indirect tax increase was supposed to go toward financing the railway infrastructure.
What explains the common sense that allows one to soberly weigh all the pros and cons of a project instead of being guided only by considerations of short-term gain, reducing tax figures for the coming year? The tradition of communal councils dates back to the Middle Ages: even then, Swiss women, mostly widows, gathered under the shade of trees, in the churchyard, or at the village inn to make decisions on financial matters and tax rates.
And today, communal assemblies exist in most Swiss regions. They decide how much money needs to be raised and what to spend it on. Moreover, discussions can sometimes be quite heated! Finally, the meeting often ends with voters raising their hands 'for' a tax increase.
Thus, in 2013, a communal assembly in Samedan, in the canton of Graubünden, agreed to raise the tax by 20% to pay off communal debts. In the canton of Schwyz, the people, contrary to the wishes of the cantonal government, voted for a 10% tax increase so as not to have to cut education programs and support for 'green' energy, also allocating additional subsidies for after-school care structures.
Thus, every Swiss becomes a 'little politician' who participates in making fateful decisions at the local level. Thanks to this political maturity, citizens have also learned that the right to self-determination goes hand in hand with personal responsibility and the ability to be guided by long-term interests.