This tuesday, after watching Kassensturz, I really had to ask me: “In which fucking capitalist country do I live?”
Reason for this was the subject about the taxes. Well, maybe you’ve already heard of it, but I didn’t until tuesday. Generally the taxes are getting a little lower, which isn’t bad at all. But the taxes for the people with higher income are decreasing much more than the other taxes. In my vision of a social country (and switzerland really wants to be one, at least they tell) this must not happen!
But this is only one part which made me think. The other, more important, was that Kanton Obwalden realized a declining tax calculation (don’t know wheter I translated it well, sorry 
). This means, that the taxes raise if you earn more money, as usual. But above a certain amount, the taxes decrease. The more money you have, the less you have to pay.
–> In which fucking capitalist country do I live?
It’s not just that country here. Some months ago I heard a radio report about Obwalden’s taxes. The problem is that you have to make rich people move to your area. And if the taxes for rich people increase here, the rich people will leave Switzerland and do not pay any taxes anymore, so the “poor” people that are left in Switzerland have to pay more. So you have to ask for Europe or the world, not just for Switzerland
.
I think the hunt for the so-called ‘Big Shots’, which are able to move to any country in the world (like a Michael Schumacher), is only one part. The other effect that Cantons like Obwalden and Schwyz want to achieve, is to gain as much rich Swiss as they can. The result is a tax contest between those Cantons, which leads to nothing: The Swiss state, as the final recipient of all those taxes, gains less money. And then they tell that they have to save, because of the missing money. So, you see, it’s a destructive vicious circle.
You’ll always live in such a country as long as you live in a democracy. I don’t think it’s possible to have a good calculation for all people.
Look at Cuba or China, this can’t be a better place to live…
I see, we can’t have too high taxes. But if the Cantons would have the same values the problem would be much smaller than it is now. I think Huendli brings it to the point very nicely
Yes, that might work for people who move their money around in Switzerland. But we still have the problem that you can store your money wherever you want, at least in theory. For example there is the 27th canton of Switzerland
.