1918 Swiss direct federal tax initiative

1918 Swiss popular initiative on introducing a federal direct tax no background: lightgrey; color:inherit; background: #E8E8E8; color:inherit; Federal popular initiative Introduction of the Direct Federal Tax (Direct federal tax initiative) background: #E8E8E8; color:inherit; Filed on: July 17, 1917 Filed by: Social Democratic Party of Switzerland Counterproposal: no Voting: June 02, 1918 Participation: 65.4 % Result: rejected By people: no (by 54.1 %) By cantons: no (by 13 3/2) The federal popular initiative "Introduction of the federal direct tax" was a Swiss popular initiative to establish a progressive direct tax. The initiative was rejected by the people and the cantons on June 02, 1918. The initiative proposed amending the Federal Constitution of Switzerland by adding Article 41bis, which would allow a progressive direct tax on the assets and income of natural and legal persons, except for those below a certain threshold and charitable organizations. One tenth of the revenue was to be allocated to the cantons. It also proposed replacing the provision allowing the Confederation to levy special contributions from the cantons with this direct tax. History thumb |German-language poster in favor of the initiative Historical background After the outbreak of World War I, the federal budget expanded dramatically, rising from less than CHF 100 million in 1913 to nearly two billion francs in cumulative deficits between 1914 and 1919. The state was therefore forced to raise taxes, especially since customs duties, the main source of revenue at the time, had declined sharply. The most significant of these, the first federal direct tax introduced in 1915, was a «war tax on wealth and the product of labor» that was not distributed equitably, leading to popular discontent. http://www.memo.fr/article.asp?ID=PAY_SUI_CON_013 During the First World War Memo Jean-Jacques Bouquet 19 January 2010 One of the demands conceded to the Olten Action Committee, which led the general strike of 1918, was the introduction of old-age and disability insurance. The Radical Party, then largely in the majority, refused to separate the issue of introducing the insurance from that of its financing. As a result, the Social Democratic Party launched this initiative to propose financing linked to this direct tax. fr The history of the long birth of the AVS Olivier Meuwly Le Temps 19 February 2008 http://www.iam.ch/files/news/2008.02.19_Letemps.pdf PDF 3 March 2016 3 February 2026 https://web.archive.org/web/20160303193417/http://www.iam.ch/files/news/2008.02.19_Letemps.pdf dead Signature collection The collection of the required 50.000 signatures by the Social Democratic Party began on November 15, 1916. On July 17, 1917, the initiative was submitted to the Federal Chancellery, which declared it valid on January 25, 1918. http://www.admin.ch/ch/f//pore/vi/vis15.html Popular initiative "Introduction of the federal direct tax" Federal Chancellery 19 January 2010 Discussions and recommendations The Federal CouncilMessage of the Federal Council Message du Conseil fédéral 27 February 1948 Federal Gazette I 1038 and the Federal AssemblyParliamentary Item Objet parlementaire 8 February 1949 Federal Gazette I 337 both recommended rejecting the initiative. In its message, the government cited several factors justifying rejection of a federal direct tax, including constitutional issues (as such a tax would encroach on the financial autonomy of the cantons) and financial risks (increasing the likelihood that cantons would lose revenue due to capital flight). Vote Submitted to a vote on June 02, 1918, the initiative was rejected by 13 3/2 cantons and by 54.1% of voters. http://www.admin.ch/ch/f/pore/va/19180602/det76.html Vote no. 76 – Summary table Federal Chancellery 19 January 2010 Legacy Following the rejection of this initiative, the Social Democratic Party launched another initiative four years later entitled "Levying a one-time tax on wealth", which met the same fate.March 2026 A similar rejection also affected the initiative launched by Basel-Stadt politician Christian Rothenberger on the same issue.March 2026 Meanwhile, the federal direct tax continued to be levied regularly by the Confederation without becoming permanent. It was successively known as the "new extraordinary war tax", the "crisis tax" during the 1933 economic crisis, and the "national defense tax" from 1941, before taking its current name, "federal direct tax", in 1983. It was renewed by federal executive order until 2020. fr Federal direct tax Historical Dictionary of Switzerland Conrad Stockar 6 May 2008 https://hls-dhs-dss.ch/fr/articles/013768/2008-05-06/ References External links Full text of the initiative from the Federal Chancellery of Switzerland Category:1918 in Switzerland Category:June 1918 in Europe Category:Politics of Switzerland Category:Popular initiatives (Switzerland)