Switzerland will vote for 50% tax on Mega-Hearances in a national referendum

The Switzerland government marked on November 30 the referendum on the proposal of socialist youth (Juso) which fees by 50% the inheritances and donations over 50 million Swiss francs (about R $ 313.5 million).

According to the organization, the measure nicknamed “initiative for the future” can generate an annual revenue of 6 billion francs (R $ 37.6 billion), entirely intended for policies to combat climate crisis focusing on social justice.

The proposal was presented in 2022 and advances on the heart of the Swiss economic model, historically marked by low taxes on large fortunes and a policy of fiscal neutrality that attracts foreign billionaires.

Juso argues that the ecological transformation of the economy requires a radical change in the distribution of wealth. “The mega-shares of ultra-rich destroy our climate and our democracy,” said the organization’s president, Mirjam Hostetmann.

For the proponents, it is not just about collecting: the proposed tax also aims to break the logic of environmental impunity of those who profit from the current model.

“Without a fair participation of the super rich, it will be the population as a whole that will pay the bill,” said Hostetmann in a statement. The initiative does not affect inheritances below 50 million francs and would only reach about 2,000 people in the country – or 0.05% of taxpayers.

In Switzerland’s direct democracy system, any citizen or social group can propose a constitutional change to gather the necessary signatures.

The initiatives do not depend on the approval of Parliament to be voted. After the signatures are validated, the Federal Government (Federal Council) defines a date for the referendum, regardless of the position of political institutions. In the case of the initiative for the future, the vote was scheduled for November 30, 2025.

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Government and Parliament reject proposal and align themselves to the super rich

In December 2024, the Federal Council, the Swiss Executive, recommended the rejection of the proposal, claiming that the new tax could compromise fiscal stability, affect the country’s reputation and cause the billionaire taxpayers to drop.

Executive’s analysis estimates that more than three quarters of potential collection could be lost if the affected people decide to move from Switzerland – a choir argument by bankers, entrepreneurs and vehicles from the major international press.

Parliament followed the same line. In June 2025, the Council of States (equivalent to the Senate) voted 36 to 7 against the proposal, with only one abstention.

The National Council (Câmara Baixa) had already rejected not only the initiative but any alternative counterproposal. In practice, the bourgeois majority of Parliament reaffirmed their position of shielding the interests of the great fortunes, even without being able to bar the referendum.

The Swiss Socialist Party has harshly criticized the decision. “Although super rich are responsible for most CO₂ emissions, it is the collectivity that bears the social and ecological costs of this crisis,” said Senator Carlo Sommaruga.

For him, Parliament’s refusal to discuss alternatives to better distribute wealth reveals the inability of the political elite of facing increasing inequalities.

In addition to environmental criticism, the proposal also fits into a context of deep heritage inequality in the country. The 300 richest people in Switzerland today concentrate more than 833 billion francs (R $ 5,224 trillion), of which 666 billion francs (R $ 4,176 trillion) are inherited, according to data from Juso itself.

At the same time, the majority of the population faces salary stagnation and increasing costs of life. The proposal of socialist youth seeks, therefore, to reverse this logic in the name of a possible future for the 99%.

Also read: Social movements call national act for taxation of super rich and against scale 6 × 1

Liberal media and financial market expand elites’ panic

The reaction of the economic elite was immediate – and amplified by the media combined with financial capital.

Newspapers such as Financial Times and Bloomberg began to highlight, with alarmist emphasis, statements by bankers and billionaires concerned with the future of their fortunes. Lombard Odier’s banker Frédéric Rochat even stated that “the simple fact that the proposal already exists already creates uncertainty”

More scandalous was Peter Spuhler’s statement, one of the richest men in the country and owner of giant Stadler Rail. According to him, if the tax is approved, their heirs will have to deliver up to 2 billion Swiss francs (approximately R $ 12.5 billion) to the state.

The phrase was used by Juso as proof of the obscene concentration of wealth in the country and the fear that the elite has of any real redistribution.

“This reaction shows who profits from the climate crisis and who runs away from responsibility,” summarized Julien Berthod, Juso’s vice president.

Business Economiesuis has classified the proposal as a “risk to Switzerland stability as a reliable international business destination”.

The narrative of the imminent disaster, repeated by consultants and columnists in the financial sector, was sewn with veiled threats of exodus, divestment and talent escape – the classic vocabulary of liberal terrorism.

This orchestrated panic also serves to delegitimize the idea that an ecological transformation of the economy is viable without attacking privileges. Juso itself denounces that the discourse of innovation and “business sustainability” serves to hide the absence of structural climate policies.

“Continue to put the weight of the crisis over 99% is to allow ultra-rich to continue profiting at the expense of our future,” the organization says.

Also read: Haddad wants to tax fortunes that challenge logic

Unfavorable research is a reflection of the ideological siege of the elite

Liberal terrorism provoked negative reaction to the proposal of the socialists. A survey published in August 2024 by Swissinfo pointed out that 67% of the Swiss population opposes the proposal.

The data, widely quoted by parliamentarians and press vehicles, has been treated as an indication of imminent defeat.

But its disclosure came at the height of the disinformation campaign led by the conservative sectors, which raises doubts about the real degree of popular adhesion to the proposal after the “Tax Terror” campaign.

In addition, critical Swiss political analysts point out that the most majority model required to approve constitutional changes (most of them popular votes and most provinces) are often an additional barrier to wealth redistribution projects.

Still, Juso and left sectors trust that the campaign can reverse part of the rejection and transform the referendum into a milestone of social dispute.

Even in the face of pressure from the economic elite, the movement in defense of the initiative for the future continues to gain support from unions, environmentalists and housing movements. The central messages of the campaign-climate justice, taxation of super rich and wealth redistribution-have the potential to mobilize the sectors most affected by the cost of the ecological and social crisis.

Depending on mobilization in the months preceding the vote, the referendum may expose not only the contradictions of the Swiss model, but also the fear that the elites have that the climate crisis will be faced fairly. The plebiscite of November 30 will be, more than one fiscal test, a democratic test.