Who benefits and who pays more?
Income instead of marriage punishment: who benefits from individual taxation and who pays more
The marriage sentence should go away, but how? In principle, the Council of States is in favor of individual taxation. This tax revolution is not in dry cloths – because there are winners and losers. The Council of States gives the template a more conservative coat of paint.
Civil status should no longer have any influence on the tax level.
What is the problem?
41 years ago, the Federal Supreme Court determined that couples were disadvantaged to pairs of concubine pairs. Since then, the cantons have abolished this marriage penalty and sometimes even turned it into a marriage bonus. In the direct federal tax, however, all attempts to abolish the tax disadvantage of married couples failed. The basic problem is the progression. Double-earner couples pay significantly more taxes than the equally situated pairs of concubine. Because the income is added to the married couples. This leads to higher taxes because of the progression.
Is it about taxes or ideology?
« I hope that the marriage penalty will finally be abolished! » Said finance minister Karin Keller-Sutter on Tuesday in the Council of States. All 46 councilors probably shared this wish in the hall. Only there are two different solutions. Middle and SVP want couples to be taxed together in the future. The marriage sentence is to be abolished by introducing a splitting or the so -called alternative tax calculation. The center party has submitted a popular initiative.
With a popular initiative, the FDP women are calling for the introduction of individual taxation. This means that couples are predicted individually. This makes taxation independent of civil status. The Federal Council rejects the initiative, but has adopted an indirect counter -proposal. This is supported by FDP, GLP, SP and Greens. The line of conflict runs between the « conservatives », which the individual taxation regarded as an attack on marriage, as State Council said Werner Salzmann (SVP/BE) in the Council, and the « progressive », who also want to ensure that women work more and see an important element in equality policy in tax reform.
The opponents complain that the state intervene in the life form of families with individual taxation, because the traditional family forms will tend to pay more taxes with a main annoyance.
In fact, the principle applies: Married couples benefit from a splitting model with a traditional roller division – he main struts, they are responsible for household and child rearing. Married couples benefit from the individual taxation with a uniform distribution of income.
Who benefits from the template?
First: The Federal Council's proposal means that there are more winners than losers. Because the individual taxation would not be introduced in pure form. Various correction mechanisms such as the adjustment of the tax tariffs or the increase in the children's deduction are planned. The federal government expects tax failures of CHF 850 million.
The children's deduction is to be divided in half. It is particularly important for those couples who have similarly high incomes. In addition, two examples of a family with two children.
If the woman earns CHF 90,000 and the man 60,000 francs, this results in a household income of CHF 150,000. With the reform, the couple would have to pay around CHF 1,500 less direct federal taxes. If the woman earns CHF 60,000 and the man CHF 40,000, the tax amount would decrease by around CHF 400.
Who loses?
The Federal Council template is the most affected by those couples who have a high first income and a deep second income. Also two examples for a family with two children.
If the woman earns CHF 135,000 and the man CHF 15,000, this results in a household income of CHF 150,000. Before the reform, this couple paid almost CHF 2500 to the federal treasury, almost CHF 4100 after the reform. The difference to a couple with an income distribution of 60 and 40 percent is striking. This would only pay CHF 720.
The difference in a household income of CHF 250,000 is even more striking. If the woman earns CHF 225,000 and the man CHF 25,000, taxes were new to around CHF 24,220. That would not even be 600 francs more than today. But the difference to a couple with the same household income, but an income system 60/40, is significant. The traditional couple would have to pay more than twice as much tax.
The Council of States therefore wants to correct this effect. He decided that the children's deductions should no longer be divided in half – so that they do not expire in a deep second income. So that the tax failures are not too high, the children's deduction should only be CHF 10,700. The additional costs for this model amount to around CHF 250 million. This means that tax failures are greater and therefore also the resistance from the left.
What's next?
The Council of States has not yet given the template. It is still unsure whether the business survives the final vote. Because the Council of States only entered the template with 23 to 22 votes. In the debate on occurrence, it was shown that there are also doubts in the SP and the FDP. In particular, Franziska Roth (SP/SO) and Pascal Broulis (FDP/VD) probably voted especially from party bounds. The Council of States deals with the business on Monday. After that, the National Council is on the train again. Even if the template survives parliamentary advice, a referendum is likely.
