Cantonal referendum on "Increase in motor vehicle taxes"
| Cantonal referendum | |
|---|---|
| "Increase in motor vehicle taxes" | |
| Result: | Declined |
| General | |
| Canton: | Lucerne |
| Date: | November 28, 2004 |
| Recommendation of the Cantonal Council | |
| Yes: | 77 |
| No: | 17th |
| result | |
| Yes: | 28,831 (27.62%) |
| No: | 75,571 (72.38%) |
| Yes votes by district | |
|
|
The cantonal referendum on "Increase in motor vehicle taxes" was a referendum in the Swiss canton of Lucerne that took place on November 28, 2004. The content of the vote was to increase the motor vehicle tax .
Background and content
After the canton of Lucerne closed with a deficit in 2003 and there was no sign of improvement for the following years, the government council developed a concept called “austerity package 2005” in order to be able to pursue its debt reduction goals. 80% of the budget improvements were to be achieved through spending cuts, while additional measures aimed at increasing income of 20 million. Most of the additional income of around 12 million francs was to be achieved through the increase in motor vehicle taxes. The increases were determined as follows:
- Passenger car: + 15% (linear)
- Party cars and minibuses: + 5 CHF per seat (now 40 instead of 35 CHF)
- All other vehicles: + 10% (linear)
- Increase in the maximum amount for agricultural vehicles, small motorcycles and work trailers from CHF 50 to CHF 100.
In addition to the need to improve the canton budget, the government council argued in favor of increasing taxes:
- Since the last adjustment of motor vehicle taxes in 1995 there has been an increase of 8%
- For the approximately 200 road construction projects open, additional income is urgently needed. Around half of the projects would have to wait around 10 years to be implemented because the financial means are lacking.
- To maintain the value of the 520-kilometer road network, an annual investment of 25 million francs would be necessary for renovation, but due to the financial situation, no more than 13 million francs can currently be spent
- The road construction debt of around 91 million francs is to be reduced at the end of 2003, since the interest on the debt alone costs the canton 3 million francs annually
referendum
The change in the law was published on June 19, 2004 in the Lucerne Cantonal Gazette. During the referendum period of two months, the necessary 3000 signatures for a referendum were collected and submitted by two committees. One committee consisted of the Association for Portable Taxes (VTS) and the SVP Canton of Lucerne , the other of individual sections of the Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) and the Automobile Club of Switzerland (ACS) . The reasons for rejecting the bill from both committees included:
- The canton of Lucerne is already one of the cantons with the highest taxes, fees and charges in Switzerland.
- The canton must learn to be more economical and should not offset its waste at the expense of the population by increasing taxes.
- The canton of Lucerne counts as a "large canton" whose citizens in the economically structurally weak peripheral areas are dependent on a motor vehicle for commuting.
- The motor vehicle tax would be between 19.7% and 37.7% higher than in the other cantons of Central Switzerland.
- The money from motor vehicle taxes would be used for the recovery of the financial situation.
- With the resolution to increase the HVF increase from 2005, additional income of 6 - 8 million francs will flow in and an increase in motor vehicle tax to repay road construction debts is therefore unnecessary.
Voting result
The approval of the bill was between 19% in the Entlebuch office and 33% in the Lucerne office . Thus, all five offices of the canton at that time rejected the increase in the motor vehicle tax with an average assumption of 27.62% and a voter participation of 45%. On the other hand, the cantonal referendum “Increase in ship tax”, which was also held on the same day and was also intended as a measure of the “austerity package 2005”, was accepted.
| Office | Voting participation | Yes (number) | No (number) | Yes (percent) | No (percent) | adoption |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entlebuch | 46.00% | 1,117 | 4,779 | 18.95% | 81.05% | No |
| Hochdorf | 44.70% | 4,297 | 13,203 | 24.55% | 75.45% | No |
| Lucerne | 44.17% | 15,822 | 31,482 | 33.45% | 66.55% | No |
| Sursee | 46.88% | 4,698 | 15,208 | 23.60% | 76.40% | No |
| Willisau | 44.46% | 2,897 | 10,899 | 21.00% | 79.00% | No |
| Total (5) | 44.90% | 28,831 | 75,571 | 27.62% | 72.38% | No |