Federal Supreme Court annuls vote on marriage penalty
Peter von Burg
The Federal Supreme Court revokes the 2016 vote on the popular initiative "For marriage and family - against the marriage penalty". The Federal Council's incomplete and non-transparent information would have violated the freedom of voters to vote. Given the narrow rejection of the bill and the seriousness of the irregularities, it is possible that the result of the vote could have been different.
The initiative was rejected by 50.8% of voters and was accepted by a large majority of the cantons. The information provided by the Federal Council showed, among other things, that around 80,000 two-earner married couples and numerous retired couples were affected by what is known as the "marriage penalty", i.e. a worse position than unmarried couples in terms of direct federal tax. In 2018, the Federal Council informed in a media release that, based on corrected estimates, around 454,000 two-earner couples would be affected. Several private individuals were finally brought before the Federal Supreme Court for violation of political rights.
The judgments (1C_315/2018, 1C_316/2018, 1C_329/2018, 1C_331/2018, 1C_335/2018, 1C_337/2018, 1C_338/2018, 1C_339/2018 and 1C_347/2018) shall be published on www.bger.ch once the written reasons have been submitted. Film footage was also published for consultation purposes.
The press release of the Federal Supreme Court can be found here and that of the Federal Council can be downloaded here.
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