The Swiss government has opened its campaign against a Centre Party initiative that would keep married couples taxed jointly at federal level. Finance Minister Karin Keller-Sutter launched the No campaign ahead of the 29 November vote, when both the people and the cantons will decide. Because the proposal would change the Constitution, it needs a majority of voters and a majority of cantons to pass.
The initiative carries the title “Yes to fair federal taxes for spouses too, Stop discrimination against marriage!”. It would require spouses to continue to be assessed together as a single economic unit for direct federal tax. It would also write into the Constitution that married couples may not be treated less favourably than unmarried couples who live together. Its backers propose that the tax authorities automatically apply whichever rate works out best for each couple, so that no married pair would pay more than it would as two single people.
Both the Federal Council and parliament oppose the proposal. The government argues that it has been overtaken by events, since voters approved individual taxation by a large majority in March 2026, a decision the Federal Council says has resolved the old problem of a marriage penalty. The Centre initiative is designed to reverse that result. The Senate rejected it narrowly on 4 June 2026, a sign that the idea still has some support in parliament even though both chambers ended up opposing it.
The government’s main objection is practical. If the initiative passed, it warns, Switzerland would end up with two conflicting systems: joint taxation for federal tax, and individual taxation for cantonal and municipal tax. The Federal Council expects this to cause administrative chaos for tax offices and taxpayers alike, who would have to deal with two different methods of assessment for the same household income. Depending on how the change were implemented, the Confederation could also lose up to CHF3 billion in revenue every year.
Ministers also make a fairness case. They say the initiative would favour married couples while disadvantaging people who are not married. Joint taxation, they argue, discourages second incomes in a household, which are mostly earned by women, and so weakens women’s financial independence. The vote on 29 November will show whether the March decision on individual taxation holds, or whether voters and cantons want to reopen it.
