Federal Council rejects two middle initiatives

It is primarily about love, but above all about money. Right at two media appearances, the Federal Council dealt with marriage yesterday, more precisely: with the marriage penalty.

The Federal Supreme Court stated that there is one in Switzerland more than 40 years ago: couples are taxed together today, because of the progression they have to hand over more to the state than unmarried couples. Swiss politics argue about the same than the same long about how to remove it. The location is tricky, as it once again became clear on Friday.

Initially, Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter commented on an initiative of the middle party, according to which the financial disadvantage of spouses in direct federal tax should be abolished. The initiative wants to fix in the constitution that the income of married couples in the tax return will continue to be added together, but without having to fall behind by tax progression towards unmarried people – it leaves a precise implementation to the parliament.

However, this is currently dealing with a reverse approach: individual taxation. This would also abolish the marriage penalty, but then married would have to submit two tax returns. In particular, conservatives defend themselves because it attacks the marriage institute. The debate on the occurrence of the Council of States was very scarce at 23 to 22; The exact design will continue in the Stöckli next Monday.

« Helps equality »

The Federal Council prefers the individual taxation, in turn, a counter -proposal to an initiative of the FDP women. This would not only produce civil status in taxation, it also promotes the employment of women, argued Keller-Sutter. This helps equality.

« This form of taxation is best taken into account social development, » said the finance minister before the media. The Federal Council also rejects the middle initiative without counter-proposal because it cannot present two contradicting laws to the parliament. The basic tone was clear: « We agree that the marriage sentence should be abolished. »

Passed there, the times when a nutrner brings the money home while the woman orders the household. At least on the revenue side of the federal government.

It's just stupid that the middle submitted a second initiative, and this affects the marriage penalty in the AHV – i.e. the federal spending side.

The AHV or the end of the equality seminar

Today, the sum of the individual pensions of a couple may be a maximum of 150 percent of the maximum pension, specifically CHF 3780 for people who have always paid into the AHV. Anyone who lives in a concubinate is entitled to a full 200 percent. The difference can be up to CHF 1225 per month.

The Federal Council's equality seminar ends here. Just an hour after Keller-Sutter's plea for the independence of civil status, it was to explain to Interior Minister Elisabeth Baume Schneider that the marriage still contains many advantages over the concubinate-and therefore an elimination of the pension plan fund is out of the question.

The Federal Council also rejects this initiative without a counter -proposal. This means that at least from a pension look for married people, it still makes no sense if both spouses work.

The reason, however, is more tangible than the (ever smaller) pension advantages that spouse enjoys in the event of death or divorce: they are the costs. « An assumption of the initiative would lead to an increase in the annual AHV editions of around CHF 3.6 billion in 2030 and around CHF 4.1 billion in 2035, » Baume Schneider calculated.

An increase in the Plafond to 170 percent would result in additional costs from around CHF 2.4 billion in 2030 and CHF 2.75 billion in CHF 2035, the Federal Council's message can be found. Money that the AHV is not only available due to the 13th monthly pension.