With a clear compass through stormy times

Geopolitical and global economic tensions continue. Trade conflicts, blockades and protectionist tendencies are intensifying. As an internationally interconnected location, Switzerland is more dependent than ever on trade relations that are as diversified and reliable as possible, as Christoph Mäder, President of economiesuisse, explained at the annual media conference. "Both the trade agreement with the USA and the Bilateral Agreements III are important for Switzerland to maintain its economic capacity to act." The free trade agreements, and in particular the agreement currently under discussion with Mercosur, are also an important pillar for international market access. "The more diversified, the better. All agreements are therefore needed. Playing the agreements off against each other, on the other hand, is wrong," says Mäder.

Skilfully navigating a turbulent environment with a liberal compass

In an environment of increasing uncertainty, navigation with a clear economic policy compass is required. For economiesuisse, this means Switzerland must consistently focus on openness, competitiveness and stable framework conditions. This year, openness as an important liberal value is also under pressure from a socio-political perspective. The Swiss 10 million initiative calls for a rigid upper population limit. In view of demographic developments in particular, such a cap is anything but sensible. There is already a shortage of workers in many areas of the economy and public services. Too few carers for older people. A lack of doctors in hospitals. Too few staff in hotels and restaurants. And too few skilled workers in industry. It would be wrong to barricade access to foreign workers, which is why the economy clearly rejects the initiative.

Against debt management: No to the climate fund initiative, Yes to relief package 27

The year 2026 will be a test for the federal budget and the debt brake. economiesuisse clearly rejects the left-green climate fund initiative, which will be put to the vote on 8 March.Accepting the initiative would lead to a massive increase in government spending - at the expense of taxpayers and the country's financial stability. "This is another initiative that orders something from the state without saying who will foot the bill," says Monika Rühl, Chair of the Executive Board of economiesuisse. It is clear that the debt economy would increase and taxpayers would be burdened additionally and massively. But even without the climate fund initiative, the federal government is threatened with higher debts. "That is why the relief package 27 is necessary. This is the only way to comply with the debt brake and ensure that the federal budget is financially robust," says Rühl. One thing is clear: stability is one of Switzerland's strengths - especially in turbulent times like these.

Reducing the regulatory burden as an important focus in 2026

Not only the debt burden, but also the increasing regulatory burden poses a serious problem for Switzerland as a business location. Every year, CHF 30 billion in bureaucratic costs could be avoided if the authorities were to make their processes more efficient and digital. One example of paralyzing processes is the lengthy building permit procedures, which need to be simplified. It is equally important that new regulatory burdens are avoided. The new corporate responsibility initiative, for example, would lead to additional regulations, obligations and burdens for companies. This would put Switzerland completely on the sidelines internationally. With its "Omnibus" package, the EU has decided to simplify and streamline the sustainability rules for companies.

Yes to individual taxation

Another important location factor is tax attractiveness for private individuals and companies. With the referendum proposal on the introduction of individual taxation, Switzerland has the opportunity to make the tax system more attractive for private individuals. The current taxation of couples means that certain married dual earners pay more tax than unmarried couples with comparable incomes. This so-called marriage penalty, which mainly applies to federal tax, affects around 670,000 married couples. In addition, the existing system has an undesirable side effect: joint taxation dampens the earning incentives of second earners, mostly women. This is because additional income quickly falls into a higher progression bracket, making a higher workload less attractive. These problems can be solved with the introduction of individual taxation. economiesuisse supports individual taxation and has adopted the Yes slogan for the vote on March 8.

Questions:

Silvan Lipp
Head of Communications, Member of the Executive Board +41 44 421 35 57 [email protected]