Class struggle instead of climate change in the National Council
« Only the stupidest calves choose their butcher themselves »: The first debate about Juso-Ergschaftssteu was so spitically
The initiative was hardly submitted, there were already violent reactions. On Wednesday, the National Council discussed for the first time about the inheritance tax proposed by Juso. The discussion took place on a fundamental level, it was spoken primarily in stimulant.
While the debate about Juso-heritage tax is raging, FDP politician Nadine Gobet photographs the National Council Hall.
« Nothing means to risk the Elon Musk and Donald Trump system here too. » This is the warning that SP-Co-boss Cédric Wermuth pronounces on Wednesday afternoon. He calls the unequal distribution of assets in Switzerland « radical and obscene ». His group colleague Jacqueline Badran also draws an oligarchic dystopia and is called the National Council « Welcome to Neofeudalism ».
It is about the Juso initiative that demands a national inheritance tax. Their opponents draw an image of an arbitrary state that grabs honest entrepreneurs in the wallet and robs them of any incentives. The FDP national councilor Kris Vietze is reminiscent of the Chinese dictator Mao and the GDR boss Honecker. Middle National Councilor Philipp Bregy says: « Even Marx would probably never have come up with such an initiative. » The middle national council Thomas Rechsteiner twice: « Only the stupidest calves choose their butcher themselves. »
National Council debates the Juso inheritance tax initiative.
The tone was spacious before the debate
It didn't work on Wednesday afternoon. It was an emotional debate with an announcement: In February 2024, the Juso submitted the “Initiative for the Future”, which demands a tax of 50 percent on inheritances that exceeded a free allowance of CHF 50 million. The name stems from the fact that these funds should be used to combat climate change.
An outcry from the economy immediately followed. The President of Stadler-Rail, Peter Spuhler, complained about the media, the Juso force him to emigrate. Oppressions such as Economiesuisse and Swissmem criticized the initiative and called them « poison » for the Switzerland location. The FDP has already launched a poster campaign, Much to the annoyance of the Juso.
And the Federal Council, the responsible business commission and a majority of the National Council also reject the concern. You recommend a no without counter -proposal.
Only one is open to alternatives
Nevertheless, the advisers have made four variants: three alternatives with lower tax rates and varying allowances and a counter -draft, in which the legacy is counted towards the income that is decisive for direct federal tax.
During the debate, however, only a National Council dealt with these counter -proposals. EVP politician Marc Jost says: « We are against extreme solutions, but the EPP is open to a counter-proposal. » He is the first and only one to open this door. « Even entrepreneurs say that an inheritance tax of 5 to 10 percent would be portable. »
The SVP politician Martin Hübscher, on the other hand, explains: « These alternative designs are a helpless attempt to take the debate in length. » His faction prefers that the matter is treated as quickly as possible and then “massively rejected”.
The climate debate does not take place
The advocate SP and Greens factions, on the other hand, complain that any counter-proposals are categorically rejected. SP parliamentarian Barbara Gysi says: « The warning against the rich is pulling away is dishonest. » It is a shame that the responsible commission « closes all discussion ». She says: « It is only about ideology that those who already have a lot get more. »
While the greatest theories of capitalism and communism were dealt with, one thing went under: climate change. SP and GREEN Council members tried to bring him into conversation, but in vain. The young Social Democrat Hasan Candan said: « It scares us when we think of our future with the climate crisis. » But most of the other present were much more afraid of inheritance tax.
