Home ownership Canton of Zurich to make representations to Bern about homeowners
The canton of Zurich is to make representations to Bern on behalf of homeowners with low incomes. On Monday, parliament supported an SVP proposal calling for a state initiative. The aim is to introduce a hardship clause to prevent senior citizens from having to sell their home because their tax bill is too high.
01.07.2024, 10:48
01.07.2024, 11:57
SDA
The Cantonal Council provisionally supported the parliamentary initiative (PI) with 127 votes. This required 60 votes. The initiative will now go to the relevant committee and then back to the Council. Only if Parliament then says yes again can the Canton of Zurich officially submit its request to Bern.
This must now be done "subito", demanded Tobias Langenegger (SP, Zurich). In this case, it would certainly make an impression if Zurich said that it needed a solution quickly. For the SP, the standing initiative from Zurich is "damage limitation". In their opinion, the damage was clearly done by the SVP.
SVP fought the same initiative at federal level
Federal Councillor Karin Keller-Sutter (FDP) would actually have been prepared to accept a proposal from the SP to introduce a hardship clause. But the SVP killed the proposal. "And only because it came from the SP," says Langenegger.
The Centre Party also criticized the SVP's behaviour. It was absurd, said Konrad Langhart (Stammheim). "Exactly twelve days after the same people rejected the proposal in Bern, they are submitting it again in the Zurich Cantonal Council." The Center Party did not support the PI because it was an issue at national level.
The GLP was of the same opinion. "We support the issue through our representatives in Bern," said Cristina Cortellini (Dietlikon). "The SVP should do the same, please."
Senior citizens with high tax bills
The reason for the hardship clause being demanded is that the tax authorities have to reassess properties in the canton of Zurich. It is already clear that they are worth much more than they were in the last valuation round in 2009. This will significantly increase the imputed rental value.
As a result, homeowners' tax bills are expected to be significantly higher from the 2025 tax period. At the same time, the Zurich Government Council is abolishing an existing hardship clause because the Administrative Court came to the conclusion that there was no legal basis for it.
This hardship clause gave homeowners on low incomes a discount on the imputed rental value. This meant that senior citizens in particular, who only live on a pension, did not have to sell their home because their tax bill was too high. However, in order to reintroduce this hardship clause, a change would be needed at federal level.
