It is well known that Basel-Stadt is not exactly considered a tax haven within Switzerland. Although corporate tax rates have now been massively reduced as part of the corporate tax reform, the burden on private individuals remains high.
This has long been a source of resentment, as the canton has been reporting budget surpluses in the hundreds of millions for over a decade now. In the past 12 years alone, this has amounted to around CHF 3 billion, or almost a billion more without the funding of the pension fund. Despite this, initiatives to reduce taxes have always had a difficult time due to the political constellation in parliament.
However, there is now movement in the matter, as relief for taxable private individuals has now become unavoidable in this financial constellation.
At the beginning of the year, our partner Christian Moesch – a member of the Grand Council for the FDP parliamentary group – therefore submitted a motion that, under certain conditions, future surpluses of the canton should be refunded to taxpayers. The advantage of this over actual tax cuts is that the canton’s financial planning security is not affected. The proposal also envisages that part of the surplus will continue to be used to reduce gross debt. The proposal was even supported by the SP in the first referral to the government council. The government’s response shows a great deal of favour for the proposal. It now remains to be seen whether the motion can be passed on to the government as a binding mandate for implementation. The decision will be made in the course of October.
In addition, two further motions to reduce taxes were referred in September to the cantonal government for comment. This shows that the need for tax relief for private individuals can no longer be denied. The canton of Basel-Stadt has been able to take on a pioneering role in some areas. It is now time to take a significant step forward in terms of tax relief for residents.
