“Housing owners must pay taxes on an income they never receive,” criticizes the Center, PLR, Vert’liberals and UDC representatives.
Switzerland must abolish the rental value, an “unfair” tax. An Interpartis Bourgeois committee pleaded for a “yes” on September 28 in vote. According to him, the reform will reduce the burden of the middle class, in particular young families and retirees.
Parliament endorsed last December a complete change in housing tax system. The rental value, namely a tax on the theoretical amount that a owner could withdraw if he hired, is deleted, after decades of blocking. In return, the interests of the mortgage debt and the costs of maintaining and renovating the building are only partially deductible.
“The rental value tax is considered to be the most unfair tax in Switzerland: housing owners must pay taxes on an income they never receive,” said the press in Berne on Monday, UDC Gregor Rutz (ZH), president of the Association of German -owned owners (HEV).
Retirees “Hardly” impacted
The rental value, a tax introduced to increase tax revenue during crises of the past century, should have disappeared a long time ago, argued the national councilor Daniela Schneeberger (PLR/BL). Because it particularly hardly strikes retirees.
Many of them live from their AVS rent and an often modest pension. As they have often finished paying their accommodation, they can hardly deduce any passive interests. The rental value is therefore fully reflected in their tax bill.
Young families to support too
But the abolition of rental value will also relieve the burden of young people and families. It will strengthen their chances of accessing the property, continued Simone Richner, Municipal Councilor PLR in town of Bern.
“My generation knows: the path that leads to the property is increasingly strewn with pitfalls. Prices are increasing, funding and financial capacity requirements are high. ”
A limited and temporary deduction of passive interests for first-time owners has been more registered in law and it is a solid argument in favor of “yes”, according to Ms. Richner.
Losses or not?
On the opponent’s side, we criticize a project that will cause tax losses. However, these criticisms do not take into account the new special property tax on the second homes provided for by the Parliament, AuTi the national councilor Markus Ritter (Center/SG).
Tourist cantons with many second homes will be able to compensate for tax losses. They are free to take this new tax, which requires a modification of the constitution and therefore a double yes of the people and the cantons.
And the St-Gallois to add that the opponents also ignore several decisive facts: first, the Confederation did not take into account in its calculations possible revenue of the new property tax. Second, taxes on real estate gains have been increasing for years. Finally, the increase or decrease in tax revenue also depends on the level of mortgage interests, and therefore on the possibilities of deductions.
Not just winners
It cannot be said that all the owners will be winners, admitted the advisor to the Pirmin Bischof States (Center/SO). Those who are strongly indebted will not benefit, for example, from the reform. But it is also the goal of the project, to target the retirees, who will benefit the most, added the national councilor Paolo Paumini (UDC/TI).
Last week, the Minister of Finance Karin Keller-Sutter estimated difficult to say who will benefit the reform, believing that it will depend on the canton where the property, its size, its state and possible deductions are located.
In French -speaking Switzerland, the rental value is currently still low in many places, but it can be increased at any time. This is what happened recently in several German cantons, has still warned the national councilor Pierre-André Page (UDC/FR).
Finally, the reform will also decrease the incentive to debt. The current system promotes high private debt since almost all passive interests can be deduced from taxes, according to several speakers.