COMMENT:
We had a similar referendum past November initiated by the young extreme leftists for a 50% (!) inheritance tax for wealthy above $50m – despite the fact that we pay already a wealth tax every year!
Well Swiss people realised that the billionaires have feets and can walk away similar to what you write in the California case:
Some 84.1% of Swiss voters said no to the civic duty proposal, while 78.3% rejected the inheritance tax initiative.
REPLY:
Switzerland became wealthy precisely because it respected property rights, capital mobility, and legal stability. The moment you threaten those pillars, the entire foundation collapses. The nation caved to the European Union in 2015 and abolished banking secrecy, the primary reason that people chose to keep capital in Switzerland. Switzerland abandoned its neutrality stance on war for the European Union, but internally, politicians are looking to shake down citizens for money as their own policies have caused capital to flee.
In November, radical leftist groups pushed not one but two initiatives that reflected the same ideological fantasy now sweeping California, New York, and Brussels. One proposal demanded a 50% inheritance tax on fortunes above CHF 50 million, while Switzerland already imposes a wealth tax every single year. The other initiative framed redistribution as a so-called “civic duty,” attempting to dress up confiscation as morality. More than 84% of Swiss voters rejected the civic duty proposal, and over 78% rejected the inheritance tax.
Wealth taxes merely shrink the tax base, reduce reinvestment, and push entrepreneurs offshore. Inheritance taxes punish saving or building something intended to last beyond a lifetime. Switzerland currently has a decentralized inheritance tax system that attracts the wealthy. The nation has already lost its destination for capital by handing over all banking information to centralized governments. Adolf Hitler deemed it illegal for Germans to store money outside the country, leading the way to Swiss banking. Decades later, centralized governments deem it illegal to store money anywhere that they cannot track and tax it. Christine Lagarde began the SWIFT confiscation when she was the head of the IMF. Lagarde threatened all tax havens to turn over accounts or be removed from SWIFT. Not even Hitler violated the sovereignty of Switzerland where those in government today are far more ruthless and threaten other nations with ultimatums.
Why would the government be entitled to half of someone’s fortune? The government collects its share when you earn your wealth. They tax the assets you hold, tax capital once realized, levy your property annually, and then, even in death, the government demands more. Family businesses cannot operate long-term under these conditions, and to the government’s advantage, families cannot grow in power. Inheritance taxes are not designed to fund the government; rather, they are intended to prevent intergenerational wealth transfer and keep citizens dependent on the state.
Switzerland has begun phasing in the global minimum tax rate of 15% for multinational enterprises with revenues exceeding 750 million euros. A vote will be held this year to determine whether married couples should be taxed independently. VAT tax will be expanded to online digital services such as streaming platforms. Governments are assessing every possible angle to steal from citizens. The world will witness higher tax rates and excessive authoritarian controls on capital as we move toward the end of the current cycle.