Individual taxation - The Beginning of a new era

At Stéphanie Fuchs Consulting we have actively followed an commented on this historic change in Swiss tax law - the introduction of the individual taxation. Below you find our news coverage of our CEO: Stéphanie Fuchs.

8 March 2026 - The day of the vote - 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐞𝐫𝐚

This International Women's Day carries a very special significance in Switzerland.
Today, Swiss voters accepted the introduction of individual taxation.

And I was reminded of a quote I once read by our wonderful Swiss actress Stephanie Glaser (1920–2011), which feels especially fitting in this moment.

“Das Glück liegt oft dort, wo man sich ein wenig anstrengen muss,
wo man warten können und an sich arbeiten muss.”

“Happiness often lies where we need to make an effort,
where we must be able to wait and work on ourselves.”

Some developments take time, especially when it comes to such groundbreaking changes as individual taxation.
Legal systems evolve slowly because they reflect more than technical rules.
They mirror social expectations, economic realities and the way a society understands partnership, responsibility and the individual.

Yet structural change rarely happens overnight.
This is why today matters so much.

Deep structural change always requires courage.

Because every such change asks a society whether its legal framework still reflects the world in which people actually live.
Changes of this depth do not only affect tax rates, deductions, tax invoices or filing mechanics.
They affect the underlying architecture of the system.

With the acceptance of individual taxation, Switzerland has now decided to move towards a different understanding: one that places greater weight on the individual as the bearer of taxable capacity.

This does not mean that every detail is already resolved.
And it does not mean that every practical consequence will be simple.

It means something deeper.

It means that Switzerland has acknowledged that a tax system must eventually respond when economic reality changes.

Dual-income households, independent professional paths and more diverse life models have long become part of that reality.
It is a question of how economic capacity is defined in a modern society.

And it is a deeper conversation about whether our tax system reflects the economic independence and diversity of life models that characterise today’s reality.
What a society builds into its tax system, it also carries into the world.

𝐀 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐬, 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐭𝐲, 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐬.

A sincere thank you also goes to those who have invested so much valuable work and persistence in this debate, above all Andrea Opel, Regine Sauter, Susanne Vincenz-Stauffacher and Kathrin Bertschy.

Now the focus shifts from political debate to practical implementation.
And this is exactly why we are here for you now: to help you understand it, navigate it and put it into practice.

𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐚𝐱𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 - 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐯𝐨𝐭𝐞
𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐛𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧

On 8 March, Switzerland votes on introducing individual taxation.

This debate is bigger than the question: “Does it currently benefit me?”

Let me ask you one question:

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦?
This is the key point.

We are deciding on a structural choice: the taxable unit in our system.

Each and every one of you will decide whether a tax system that no longer reflects our economic realities should persist.

That is why I need you to understand the broader implications of the decision you will make in about two weeks.

So let us begin with the core facts:
🔹 Every tax system must answer a foundational question:
Who bears the economic capacity that is taxed?

🔹 Under the current system, married couples and registered partnerships are treated as one taxable unit. Their income and wealth are aggregated and subject to progressive rates as one combined economic capacity.

🔹 This approach reflects the concept of marriage as an economic community. It emerged in a period in which single income households were the dominant reality.

🔹 Since then, economic realities have changed. Dual income households are common, careers are more independent, and income patterns are more diverse. In a progressive system, aggregation tends to increase progression, resulting in higher tax burdens.
This structural effect is commonly known as the “marriage penalty”.

🔹 In 1984, the Federal Supreme Court recognised that a substantial disadvantage for married couples compared to cohabiting couples may raise constitutional concerns.
Corrective mechanisms have been introduced over time. Yet they operate within the joint model and address the effects rather than the structure.

🔹 Individual taxation addresses the root cause and redefines the taxable unit.

Each spouse would be taxed separately.
Progression would apply individually.
Income, assets and deductions would be allocated according to civil law relationships.

This is why the vote on 8 March matters beyond annual optimisation.
🌟 It is a choice about how we define economic capacity.
🌟 It is a choice about whether our tax system reflects modern economic reality.
🌟 𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐚𝐱 𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐬.