First SRG trend question Clear majority is already against the Juso inheritance tax
The Juso initiative for the future on inheritance tax would have failed to get through to the electorate. However, according to an initial SRG trend survey conducted in October, supporters and opponents of the service-citoyen initiative are evenly balanced in the run-up to the vote at the end of November.
24.10.2025, 06:06
24.10.2025, 06:21
SDA
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- The Juso Future Initiative on inheritance tax, which will be put to the vote on November 30, 2025, would have failed according to the first SRG trend poll.
- Almost two thirds (62%) of voters with a firm intention to participate would have definitely or rather voted against it.
- Outside of those close to the SP and the Greens, the Juso initiative only found a wafer-thin majority among Italian-speaking voters willing to take part in the referendum.
- Citizen service for all: The early opinion on the initiative "For a committed Switzerland (service-citizen initiative)", on the other hand, was "not very clear".
- 48% of respondents voted for the proposal on October 10, 46% against.
This was the result of the first SRG trend survey on the vote, as reported in an SRG press release on Friday. The results correspond to a snapshot around seven weeks before voting day and do not represent a forecast.
The Juso popular initiative "For a social climate policy ... fairly financed through taxation (Initiative for a future)" would not have stood a chance if it had been put to the vote on October 10. Almost two thirds (62%) of voters with a firm intention to participate would have definitely or rather voted against, 35% definitely or rather in favor. The lead of the opponents was therefore 27 percentage points.
Supporters of the Greens and SP clearly supported the initiative, while other party constituencies just as clearly rejected it. The polarization is strong: 77% of the Greens are in favour. Among the SVP, 88 percent were against. The official position of the GLP is still pending.
Wafer-thin majority among Italian speakers
Outside of those close to the SP and the Greens, the Juso initiative only has a wafer-thin majority among Italian-speakers who want to take part in the vote. It also enjoys increased support among women, the youngest and middle-income groups.
Around two thirds of respondents fear that the wealthy could avoid the tax or move abroad. There was a similar level of concern that family businesses could be jeopardized. However, 55 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that the wealthiest should contribute more to climate protection due to their above-average emissions.
The initiative provides for a 50 percent tax on inheritances over CHF 50 million. The Juso want to use this to finance socially just climate protection measures and curb wealth inequality.
Younger people and men more in favor of civil service for all
The early opinion poll on the initiative "For a committed Switzerland (service-citizen initiative)", on the other hand, was "not very clear": 48% of respondents voted for the proposal on October 10, 46% against. Taking into account the sampling error, this corresponds to a stalemate. Six percent were undecided or did not (yet) want to or could not express an opinion.
The left-green spectrum (Greens, SP and GLP) was in favor of the project, while the center-right spectrum was against it. Whilst people from the GLP followed the slogan of their party, sympathizers of the Greens and the SP deviated from the official line of the national parent party.
Age, gender and language region were also decisive factors. The majority of supporters were 18 to 39-year-olds, people with a high level of education, respondents from French-speaking Switzerland and rural regions, those with a high level of trust in the government and men, according to the report.
According to the press release, the clearest votes against the proposal came from the ranks of the FDP, the lower and middle-educated classes and Italian-speaking Switzerland.
Only a quarter expect to vote yes to the initiative, which will be put to the vote on November 30. It calls for a citizens' service for all Swiss citizens.
Different stages of opinion formation
The state of opinion-forming is at different stages, the report continued. In the case of the Juso initiative, 70 percent had already made up their minds, while 27 percent were still undecided. In contrast, only around half (48%) expressed a firm intention to vote for the Service Citoyen Initiative.
The research institute gfs.bern conducted the survey on behalf of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG between October 6 and 20. A total of 14,785 voters in German-, French- and Italian-speaking Switzerland were surveyed. All figures are based on a probability of 95% with an uncertainty range of ±2.8 percentage points.
At 41 percent, voter turnout was still well below the long-term average, the report continued.
