Big surprise in parliament First canton breaks taboo - taxes could soon be deducted directly from wages
The Basel Grand Council has surprisingly approved an SP initiative on automatic tax deduction. In future, employers could be obliged to transfer their employees' taxes directly from their wages to the canton.
23.10.2025, 11:56
23.10.2025, 13:04
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- Basel-Stadt could be the first canton to automatically deduct taxes from wages.
- The Grand Council narrowly recommends the SP initiative for approval - by 49 votes to 48.
- A centrist politician and a GLP member of parliament were absent from the decisive vote.
The tax system in Basel could change fundamentally: In future, employees would no longer pay their taxes themselves, but would instead pay them automatically via their employer - similar to withholding tax. On Wednesday, the Basel Grand Council narrowly approved the corresponding SP initiative "No tax debts thanks to direct deduction".
The decision was only made because GLP councillor Sandra Bothe-Wenk was absent and center councillor Bruno Lötscher-Steiger stayed away from the vote. The long-time former president of the civil court and current president of the debt advice agency Plusminus had openly spoken out in favor of the direct tax deduction during the debate.
He explained that he had experienced "countless human tragedies" caused by debt in his career and considered the deduction to be sensible in principle. Nevertheless, he did not take part in the vote "out of respect for his parliamentary group" - a move that tipped the balance in favor of the left.
Counter-proposal calls for a flat-rate deduction
The proposal requires companies with more than 50 employees to deduct the tax amount directly from their wages and transfer it to the tax administration. For smaller companies, the deduction should remain voluntary. Those who do not want the automatic deduction can opt out of it (opt-out principle).
At the same time, the Council put forward a counter-proposal from the left-wing Economic and Taxation Committee (WAK): a flat-rate deduction of 10 percent in Basel-Stadt and 5 percent in Riehen and Bettingen. The aim is to ease the administrative burden on employers without undermining the system.
The conservative WAK majority had brought another solution into play - provisional tax invoices during the year instead of a fixed wage deduction. But it was narrowly defeated.
The voters will have to decide whether Basel actually introduces the salary deduction system. If the SP does not withdraw its initiative, there will be a vote. The conservatives could also launch a referendum against the Grand Council's decision.
