A Swiss army sniper demonstrates near Geneva, Saturday, April 27, 2024.Keystone
Parliament is arguing over how to finance an army expansion. The SVP is now demanding that foreigners pay a tax to compensate for the exemption from military service. This proposal could bring in 200 million a year.
Kari Kälin / ch media
Very limited autonomy, major equipment gaps, low ammunition reserves: the Swiss army documents its own state of weakness in a document entitled “Strengthening defence capacity”. It appears against the backdrop of a difficult geopolitical context. The war in Ukraine or the conflict in the Middle East reveal how unpredictable and volatile the security situation is.
The Federal Council and the bourgeois parties therefore want to inject more money into the army – despite the gloomy financial situation at the federal level. The government wants to increase the military budget to 1% of the gross domestic product by 2035. Defence Minister Viola Amherd would prefer to achieve this by 2030.
Parliament is currently debating several ideas for increasing military resources. For example, through a special fund, a temporary increase in VAT or cuts in development aid. The needs are considerable. To regain full defence capability, army chief Thomas Süssli is talking about 40 billion francs – the equivalent of drilling three base tunnels at the Gotthard.
The SVP has a proposal to generate additional revenue: introduce a tax exemption from compulsory military service for foreign men. Similar to the Swiss who do not serve their country and have to dig deep into their pockets. The SVP submitted this group motion during the current session. The text was drafted by Alfred Heer (ZH).
An idea that “worth considering»
For the Zurich National Councilor: “Swiss citizens contribute in solidarity to the security of the country.”
“Foreigners take advantage of it without providing anything in return”
He therefore demands that they also contribute as compensation to a security tax in favour of the army. The amount should be based on the tax exemption from the obligation to serve of Swiss nationals deemed unfit.
The obligation to serve extends from the ages of 19 to 37. During this period, eleven replacement taxes (3% of taxable income) must be paid. Last year, 170 million were collected from 196,800 taxable persons. This corresponds to 863 francs per person. Around 389,000 foreign men in this age group are domiciled in Switzerland. If they also pay eleven times and if we take the average amount subject to the tax as a reference, A security tax such as that envisaged by the agrarian party would bring in around 200 million per year.
The bourgeois camp is open to this project. It “deserves to be examined”, says the Grisons National Councillor of the Centre, Martin Candinas. This is also the opinion of the liberal-radical National Councillor Heinz Theiler (SW) – who adds:
“There are many foreigners who grow up here and delay their naturalization so as not to have to do military service.”
However, the army cannot guarantee the security of the population for free.
Modification of the desired Constitution
For the socialist Priska Seiler Graf (ZH), on the other hand: “We cannot do nothing for the right to vote for foreigners and impose an additional obligation on them at the same time,” says the chairwoman of the Security Policy Committee. The parliamentarian also does not understand how an exemption tax can be introduced for a service that cannot be provided at all. Foreigners have no way of joining the Swiss army, since it does not have any mercenaries in its ranks.
The plans for a security tax are actually not new. Alfred Heer has already submitted a parliamentary initiative on the subject. However, the majority in the National Council clearly rejected it in June 2011. Among the arguments put forward at the time: security is a task of the state, and is therefore financed through taxes. Foreigners therefore also contribute to the costs of the army.
One thing is certain: even if the SVP manages to rally a majority in Parliament this time, the road to a tax for foreigners is still long. It would be subject to a popular vote. Indeed, the Constitution explicitly stipulates that only Swiss citizens who do neither military nor civil service are liable for a tax.
(Translated from German by Valentine Zenker)
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