Cantonal Council LU Lucerne Cantonal Council does not want to increase child allowances

In the canton of Lucerne, child allowances are not to be increased to the extent of the planned increase in child deductions. On Tuesday, the cantonal council rejected a postulate from Hannes Koch (Greens) by 82 votes to 25.

Part of the planned tax law revision 2025, which will be voted on by voters on September 22, includes an increase in the child deduction. This will now amount to CHF 8,000 instead of the current CHF 7,000. The cantonal government expects tax losses of CHF 24 million.

In his proposal, Koch criticized the fact that rich parents would benefit from the tax deduction. In order to relieve the financial burden on parents with low and middle incomes, it would make more sense to increase child allowances.

According to Koch, the total cost of increasing child allowances should be the same as the cost of increasing the child deduction, i.e. CHF 24 million. A family-friendly canton may cost something, but it is also an attractive location, said Koch.

The conservative parliamentary groups pointed out that child allowances are financed by employers. Jasmin Ursprung (SVP) said that an increase in child allowances would place an additional burden on them. Claudia Huser (GLP) pointed out that not only rich families but also middle-class families would benefit from the larger child allowance.

The cantonal government also pointed out that child allowances would be increased in 2025 due to inflation.

SDA