A Fair Case for Tax Relief: Swiss Tax Policy, 1940s to 1960s

Gisela Huerlimann ()
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Gisela Huerlimann: ETH Zurich Institute of History

A chapter in Worlds of Taxation, 2018, pp 269-300 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract Unlike many other nations, the Swiss state cut back its nominal tax base in the long 1950s after experiencing a spectacular tax growth during the world wars. Cuts in federal income and turnover taxes were achieved by reducing the marginal rate, applying tax rebates, “elongating” the tax rate, increasing tax exemptions, and extending the list of tax-free goods. Tax burden relief was advocated from right- to left-wing parties and interest groups with fairness arguments on the backdrop of a booming economy, budget surpluses, and the veto points built into Swiss direct democracy. The essay sheds special light on the evolution of the “fiscal drag” concept for tax relief requests, and on the entanglements of the federal and cantonal treasuries and the underlying fiscal-social contract.

Keywords: Switzerland; Federalism; Progressive taxation; Tax cuts (tax reform); Fiscal drag (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:psitcp:978-3-319-90263-0_11

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-90263-0_11

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