Swiss voters reject new tax on super-rich and civic duty for women

Voters in Switzerland rejected by large majorities two initiatives in a referendum on Sunday, one proposing a 50 percent inheritance tax on the super-rich and another to extend mandatory civic or military service to women.

Some 84 percent of voters said no to the civic duty proposal, while around 79 percent voted against the inheritance tax initiative, according to initial projections after polling closed at noon on Sunday.

The tax measure was a proposal to impose a 50 percent levy on inheritance above a tax-free amount of 50 million Swiss francs (€53.6 million) and direct the funds toward measures to mitigate climate change. It was put forward by the youth wing of the leftist Social Democrats.

The “For a committed Switzerland” initiative wanted to see compulsory military or civilian service for men extended to women and expanded to additional forms of service to benefit society such as protecting the environment, assisting vulnerable people and helping with disaster prevention.

The civic duty proposal was launched by Geneva-based association servicecitoyen.ch, backed by a petition with 107,613 signatures and the support of the Liberal Greens, the Evangelical Party, the Pirate Party, the youth wing of the Centre Party and other associations.

Both initiatives failed to garner wider political support from the Swiss government or other parties, and a poll 10 days before the vote predicted ballot-box defeats for both.