Pfister Calls Planned VAT Hike a Manageable Sacrifice for Swiss Security and Defense

• The Swiss Federal Council proposes increasing VAT by 0.8 percentage points for ten years to better fund the army amid rising security risks.
• Defense Minister Martin Pfister calls the VAT hike a “manageable sacrifice” and a “minimum solution” for national security, amounting to 80 centimes per 100 francs spent.
• Public opinion is largely against the proposal, with 76% of survey respondents opposing it.
• The final decision will be made by a public and cantonal vote, as a constitutional amendment is required, with a referendum planned for summer 2027.
• Pfister emphasizes transparency about defense issues and warns that not increasing funding would mean less security for Switzerland.

Source: bluewin.ch

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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