Tax affair 92 male deputies questioned over media leak in Vaud
The Vaud public prosecutor's office has heard 92 male members of the cantonal parliament as witnesses. Each of them spent around 20 minutes in front of a public prosecutor as part of an investigation into leaks in the cantonal tax affair.
09.10.2025, 19:25
SDA
The hearings were conducted on Thursday by the Attorney General and five other public prosecutors. This was due to a complaint by the cantonal government regarding a breach of official secrecy following the publication of confidential information in the media.
The suspected leak of information is connected to the Paychère report on taxes that have been set too low for years, as the public prosecutor's office announced late on Thursday afternoon. The canton wanted to prevent taxpayers from moving away by offering tax rebates for the rich that did not comply with the law.
Information leaked to newspaper
"As the Attorney General considers the suspicion of a breach of official secrecy by one or more persons informed of the content of the Paychère report to be credible and legitimate, he has decided to open a criminal investigation on September 16, 2025," the press release stated. This was prompted by information in an article in the newspaper "Le Temps".
The Attorney General's Office had summoned the parliamentarians with the aim of identifying the named office holders. The violation of official secrecy is not attributed to them, but to the person or persons who transmitted the report in whole or in part.
Media uproar
Despite the "media uproar" caused in mid-September when the witness summonses were sent out, the public prosecutor's office put the interests of the proceedings first, she continued. It had therefore postponed informing the public until after the hearings on Thursday. It had instructed the witnesses questioned not to comment in advance.
Of the 100 MPs summoned, 92 were heard on Thursday. Eight MPs had requested a postponement. They will be heard in the coming weeks.
At this stage of the investigation, the public prosecutor's office is not yet able to provide any information on the outcome of the hearings, it added. It will provide information on the outcome of the proceedings in due course.
