Parliament has vetoed plans to tax ships based on tonnage.
Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
The Swiss parliament has vetoed plans to tax shipping freight based on tonnage and a ship’s loading capacity. On Tuesday, the House of Representatives agreed with the Senate to scrap the proposal.
Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here.
With 108 votes in favour, 75 against and two abstentions, the House of Representatives followed the proposal of the majority of its Committee for Economic Affairs and Taxation.
The decision represents a u-turn: in the winter of 2022, the proposal to introduce a tonnage tax on ocean-going vessels had some parliamentary support.
More
More
Landlocked Switzerland charts new maritime course
This content was published on
Switzerland has adopted the foundations of a plan to revive the fortunes its flagging ocean-going merchant navy fleet.
However, concerns about federal finances and the constitutional legality of the bill played a key role in the final decision. The financial impact of the new tax system was unclear despite repeated requests from the responsible committee, said Centre Party politician Leo Müller.
In 2016, parliament had voted in favour of creating the option of taxing Swiss deep-sea shipping companies based on the loading capacity of ships. This would replace taxation based on the actual profit or loss generated. It instructed the Federal Council to make a proposal for implementation.
Had the proposed new regulation been passed, the average tax burden for the shipping companies concerned would have been lighter than it is today.
Translated from German by DeepL/mga
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Multinational companies
Azeri fossil-fuel cash cow brings controversy to Switzerland
Swiss-EU negotiations: Cassis to meet Sefcovic in Bern
This content was published on
Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis will meet the Vice-President of the EU Commission, Maros Sefcovic, in Bern on Wednesday.
Heavy snowfall in Switzerland causes traffic chaos and accidents
This content was published on
The heavy snowfall late on Thursday and during the night into Friday led to traffic chaos and many accidents in many regions of Switzerland.
Chimpanzee behaviours passed down through generations
This content was published on
Some of the complex behaviours of chimpanzees have been passed down and refined over generations. These include the combination of several tools for foraging.
More than 600,000 rounds of Swiss sniper ammunition reach Ukraine
This content was published on
Sniper ammunition from Swiss P Defence reached Ukraine via a Polish company in July 2023, reported SRF Investigativ on Thursday, citing official information.
Environment minister outlines Swiss efforts to limit global warming
This content was published on
Switzerland will do its part to achieve the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celcius, said Environment Minister Albert Rösti, who's attending COP29 in Baku.
This content was published on
Switzerland remains by a large margin the European champion of train travel, both in terms of the number of journeys per person and the number of kilometres travelled. Switzerland remains by a large margin the European champion of train travel, both in terms of the number of journeys per person and the number of kilometres travelled. Switzerland remains by a large margin the European champion of train travel, both in terms of the number of journeys per person and the number of kilometres travelled.
Assisted suicide: Sarco inventor defends himself against killing rumours
This content was published on
Sarco inventor Philip Nitschke has defended himself against rumours that one of his colleagues assisted in the suicide of a woman in Schaffhausen, northern Switzerland.
Too much attention paid to queer people, says Swiss survey
This content was published on
Most Swiss are well disposed towards LGBTQ people, according to a study. However, prejudice and intolerance persist in certain sectors of society, particularly towards transgender and intersex people.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.