Council of States wants party donation tax deduction for both spouses
Published: Thursday, Jun 6th 2024, 11:40
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Married people should be able to claim the full per capita party donation deduction for direct federal tax purposes. This is what the Council of States is demanding in a motion.
Since 2011, donations and membership fees to political parties can be deducted from direct federal tax, up to the current amount of CHF 10,400 per year. However, married couples cannot claim the deduction per head, but only for their household.
The Council of States wants to change this. On Thursday, it approved the motion from the Council of States' Committee for Economic Affairs and Taxation (WAK-S) by 31 votes to 6, with 3 abstentions. According to spokesman Werner Salzmann (SVP/BE), the WAK-S is prepared to discuss a retroactive effect of the demand. The motion goes to the National Council.
Carlo Sommaruga (SP/GE) opposed the demand and a possible deduction of up to CHF 20,000 - also due to the tight financial situation. He argued for a deduction for married couples at the previous level and for a reduction for single people.
The Federal Council was also against the motion. Parliament rejected the idea of allowing higher deductions for party donations for spouses at the time, it wrote in its statement. Another reason for a no vote was that the financial impact of the motion was unknown and the financial situation was strained.
However, the Federal Council is prepared to conduct a survey of the cantons in order to find out more about possible losses as a result of the motion. It also refers to the plans for individual taxation. It adopted the dispatch on this in February.
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