Commission does not want transparency on additional income after all
Published: Tuesday, Apr 9th 2024, 18:00
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Members of the Swiss parliament should not have to provide transparency about the amount of their additional income. The responsible Council of States committee has requested that a parliamentary initiative, which it had initially supported, be rejected.
The petition was submitted by former member of the Geneva Council of States Lisa Mazzone (Greens). She is demanding that members of the Council declare how long they have had a secondary occupation and whether and how much compensation they receive for it.
Mazzone proposes seven income bands: under CHF 6,000, between CHF 6,000 and CHF 12,000, between CHF 12,001 and CHF 20,000, between CHF 20,001 and CHF 50,000, between CHF 50,001 and CHF 100,000, between CHF 100,001 and CHF 200,000 and over CHF 200,000. Income from full-time employment is not affected.
The State Policy Committee of the Council of States (SPK-S) initially supported the proposal, but the National Council's sister committee then rejected it.
The SPK-S has now done the same by 7 votes to 5, as reported by the parliamentary services on Tuesday. The Council of States will decide on the initiative next. If it also says no, the issue is off the table.
Today, members of the Council must declare any secondary employment and state whether it is paid or unpaid. The majority of the SPK-S does not want to extend this disclosure requirement on the grounds that the council mandate is not exercised on a full-time basis. It is also not to be assumed that voters are interested in this detailed information.
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