A proposal to levy an inheritance tax of 50% on the super-rich has provoked emigration threats from wealthy Swiss residents. Billionaires with a tax residency in Switzerland received a rude shock when the youth wing of the Social Democratic Party launched an initiative in 2022 calling for a 50% tax on inheritances worth more than CHF50 million ($56 million). The left-wing proposal estimates that CHF6 billion could be raised through this every year and wants the money to be funnelled into environmental protection initiatives such as renovating buildings, developing renewable energies or investing in public transport. The justification given by the proponents of the so-called “For the Future” initiative is that the richest people are largely responsible for climate change and should therefore make amends. A lot of people in Switzerland apparently agree, as the Young Social Democrats managed to collect enough signatures by February this year to force a nationwide vote as early as 2026.
