2025-11-15 Tax the rich
=======================

Switzerland has the opportunity to tax the rich! But will it make the
right choice?

> Tax the super-rich in Switzerland on their inheritance and use the
> money to tackle the climate crisis: this is what the youth section
> of the Social Democratic Party (JUSO) is proposing. Opponents,
> including the federal government, warn of losses and cutbacks for
> the Swiss economy. -- Explainer: Switzerland’s inheritance-tax
> initiative to save climate

I'm assuming it won't pass because most votes don't go the way I vote.
And this inheritance tax is mild! So mild.

> Specifically, the text calls for a 50% tax to be levied whenever
> someone bequeaths or gifts more than CHF50 million ($63 million) to
> their descendants. The tax would be payable on the amount exceeding
> this CHF50 million.

The article discusses how many people it would affect and in that
side-note, I learn something new today:

> Switzerland is currently home to 152 billionaires. As such, it has
> one of the highest densities of billionaires in the world: 17
> billionaires per million inhabitants.

I mean, I knew we had about 20 or more Russian oligarchs in this
country. But now I'm thinking, perhaps there are even more!

Well, Jan Jirát and Enrico Kampmann did some research for
@woz@troet.cafe and dug up the actual numbers. For the Canton of
Zürich: There were 382 people in 2022 with more than 50 Mio. CHF.,
they paid 250 Mio. CHF in taxes (at the level of the canton); compared
to total taxes that is a bit less than 5%.

Having the tax revenue to fight climate change would be great.
Although, now that I think about it: If all these rich folks left the
Canton that would be great, too. It seems like a small price to pay in
order to exile unwilling millionaires who are maybe using their money
to influence elections anyway. This sounds like an excellent idea. At
least now we know how much they are contributing and how much we'd be
losing. And it's not much.

I didn't look at the numbers for the smaller cantons. Some of them
really cater to the rich. But then again, if the tax rate is low,
perhaps getting rid of the rich is no big deal, either. Rents would
come down as all the lawyers and bankers would start leaving, too.
Phew!

#Switzerland #Taxes