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A man works at the Rhone Glacier partially covered with insulating foam to prevent it from melting due to global warming near Gletsch on October 27, 2021.
(Photo: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)
'People & Planet Won!': Swiss Vote to Tax Corporations, Reach Net-Zero by 2050
"Swiss voters demonstrate that progressive measures can be approved via direct democracy," noted one observer.
Jun 18, 2023
By wide margins, Swiss voters on Sunday approved a global minimum corporate tax and a law mandating carbon neutrality in the alpine nation by midcentury.
Swissinfo reports 1.8 million voters in Switzerland—78.5% of the electorate—approved a constitutional amendment raising taxes on multinational corporations with more than $750 million in annual profits to the 15% minimum agreed upon in 2021 by around 140 nations, led by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) bloc. Switzerland will become the first country to implement the tax.
Many of Switzerland's 26 cantons boast some of the world's lowest corporate tax rates, a policy proponents argue is needed to attract international businesses to a country with high labor and location costs.
Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, a member of the center-right Free Democratic Party, said Sunday's vote "ensures that Switzerland will not lose any tax revenue to foreign countries."
"It will on top also create legal certainty and a stable framework," she added, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, the Climate and Innovation Act was adopted as 59.1% of the electorate, or nearly 1.4 million people, voted to commit the country to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To accomplish this, the government will rely more upon incentives than bans, offering financial assistance for people transitioning to climate-friendly energy sources.
"The Swiss understood that the climate law is essential to take a first step and inscribe in Swiss law a clear objective for 2050. When you have a clear objective, you can then put in place the necessary measures," Céline Vara, a Green Party parliamentarian, told Swiss public broadcaster RTS.
As Swissinfo reports:
Shrinking glaciers, less snow, heavy rains, and drought—Switzerland is particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis. The average temperature has already risen by 2.5°C over the past 150 years, double the global average. Yet national policies have been deemed "insufficient" by the Climate Action Tracker (CAT), an independent group that analyses countries' climate policies.
At the same time, the small alpine country imports almost 75% of its energy, mostly crude oil, gas, and coal.
Work will now begin on implementing the new law. Beyond financial support, the new law defines intermediate CO2 emissions goals to attain carbon neutrality by 2050. By 2040, Switzerland must reduce emissions by 75% compared to 1990 levels. Indicative CO2 targets are also set for the construction, transport, and industrial sectors. The remaining emissions will have to be offset.
Swiss glaciologist Matthias Huss said Sunday's vote "sends out a strong signal."
A third measure on Sunday's national ballot extending Covid-19 emergency measures was approved by 61.9% of voters.
Voters in Geneva Canton also rejected a proposal to levy a "solidarity tax" on the wealthiest 1% of residents in Switzerland's second-largest city.
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By wide margins, Swiss voters on Sunday approved a global minimum corporate tax and a law mandating carbon neutrality in the alpine nation by midcentury.
Swissinfo reports 1.8 million voters in Switzerland—78.5% of the electorate—approved a constitutional amendment raising taxes on multinational corporations with more than $750 million in annual profits to the 15% minimum agreed upon in 2021 by around 140 nations, led by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) bloc. Switzerland will become the first country to implement the tax.
Many of Switzerland's 26 cantons boast some of the world's lowest corporate tax rates, a policy proponents argue is needed to attract international businesses to a country with high labor and location costs.
Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, a member of the center-right Free Democratic Party, said Sunday's vote "ensures that Switzerland will not lose any tax revenue to foreign countries."
"It will on top also create legal certainty and a stable framework," she added, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, the Climate and Innovation Act was adopted as 59.1% of the electorate, or nearly 1.4 million people, voted to commit the country to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To accomplish this, the government will rely more upon incentives than bans, offering financial assistance for people transitioning to climate-friendly energy sources.
"The Swiss understood that the climate law is essential to take a first step and inscribe in Swiss law a clear objective for 2050. When you have a clear objective, you can then put in place the necessary measures," Céline Vara, a Green Party parliamentarian, told Swiss public broadcaster RTS.
As Swissinfo reports:
Shrinking glaciers, less snow, heavy rains, and drought—Switzerland is particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis. The average temperature has already risen by 2.5°C over the past 150 years, double the global average. Yet national policies have been deemed "insufficient" by the Climate Action Tracker (CAT), an independent group that analyses countries' climate policies.
At the same time, the small alpine country imports almost 75% of its energy, mostly crude oil, gas, and coal.
Work will now begin on implementing the new law. Beyond financial support, the new law defines intermediate CO2 emissions goals to attain carbon neutrality by 2050. By 2040, Switzerland must reduce emissions by 75% compared to 1990 levels. Indicative CO2 targets are also set for the construction, transport, and industrial sectors. The remaining emissions will have to be offset.
Swiss glaciologist Matthias Huss said Sunday's vote "sends out a strong signal."
A third measure on Sunday's national ballot extending Covid-19 emergency measures was approved by 61.9% of voters.
Voters in Geneva Canton also rejected a proposal to levy a "solidarity tax" on the wealthiest 1% of residents in Switzerland's second-largest city.
By wide margins, Swiss voters on Sunday approved a global minimum corporate tax and a law mandating carbon neutrality in the alpine nation by midcentury.
Swissinfo reports 1.8 million voters in Switzerland—78.5% of the electorate—approved a constitutional amendment raising taxes on multinational corporations with more than $750 million in annual profits to the 15% minimum agreed upon in 2021 by around 140 nations, led by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) bloc. Switzerland will become the first country to implement the tax.
Many of Switzerland's 26 cantons boast some of the world's lowest corporate tax rates, a policy proponents argue is needed to attract international businesses to a country with high labor and location costs.
Swiss Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter, a member of the center-right Free Democratic Party, said Sunday's vote "ensures that Switzerland will not lose any tax revenue to foreign countries."
"It will on top also create legal certainty and a stable framework," she added, according to Reuters.
Meanwhile, the Climate and Innovation Act was adopted as 59.1% of the electorate, or nearly 1.4 million people, voted to commit the country to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. To accomplish this, the government will rely more upon incentives than bans, offering financial assistance for people transitioning to climate-friendly energy sources.
"The Swiss understood that the climate law is essential to take a first step and inscribe in Swiss law a clear objective for 2050. When you have a clear objective, you can then put in place the necessary measures," Céline Vara, a Green Party parliamentarian, told Swiss public broadcaster RTS.
As Swissinfo reports:
Shrinking glaciers, less snow, heavy rains, and drought—Switzerland is particularly vulnerable to the climate crisis. The average temperature has already risen by 2.5°C over the past 150 years, double the global average. Yet national policies have been deemed "insufficient" by the Climate Action Tracker (CAT), an independent group that analyses countries' climate policies.
At the same time, the small alpine country imports almost 75% of its energy, mostly crude oil, gas, and coal.
Work will now begin on implementing the new law. Beyond financial support, the new law defines intermediate CO2 emissions goals to attain carbon neutrality by 2050. By 2040, Switzerland must reduce emissions by 75% compared to 1990 levels. Indicative CO2 targets are also set for the construction, transport, and industrial sectors. The remaining emissions will have to be offset.
Swiss glaciologist Matthias Huss said Sunday's vote "sends out a strong signal."
A third measure on Sunday's national ballot extending Covid-19 emergency measures was approved by 61.9% of voters.
Voters in Geneva Canton also rejected a proposal to levy a "solidarity tax" on the wealthiest 1% of residents in Switzerland's second-largest city.
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