Work out what this means for you Marriage penalty on the brink - who will pay more tax in future?

Those who get married will pay more - or suddenly save thousands. The vote on individual taxation will decide who wins and who loses in the future.

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Hardly any other voting issue is currently as complex as individual taxation. In such cases, many people vote the way their preferred party recommends. Interest in the party slogans is correspondingly high. But something else is even more important for your own decision: how will the bill affect you personally?

blue News has created a calculator based on data from the Federal Finance Administration. This allows voters to check what individual taxation at federal level means for them: will I pay more or less tax?

We explain below why this change is taking place and who is for or against it.

In short: in future, every person in Switzerland will have to complete their own tax return. The tax office will calculate the taxes for each person individually.

This would be a major change. Today, married couples fill out a joint tax return. They are also taxed jointly.

There is one thing you need to know: The Swiss tax system is progressive. This means that the tax burden curve does not point evenly upwards, but is inclined upwards. In other words, those who earn more pay more tax as a percentage. This principle is laid down in the Federal Constitution, according to which the state taxes us "according to our economic capacity".

This has consequences for married couples where both work (dual earners). Their joint income is taxed at a higher rate than if they were not married. This effect is known as the "marriage penalty". In 1984, the Federal Supreme Court criticized a similar rule in the canton of Zurich. For over 40 years, attempts have therefore been made to abolish the marriage penalty for federal tax purposes.

Married couples in particular, where one person earns little or nothing, would pay more. Or to put it bluntly: where one person is financially dependent on the other.

For example: the husband earns 90,000 francs a year, the wife earns nothing. If the bill is approved, the husband would pay around CHF 670 more in federal tax.

Such households are often referred to as "traditional families". According to a calculation by "Infosperber", however, they are very rare today. In only 2.2 percent of households does one person alone earn the entire income. Some of these couples now benefit from a "marriage bonus". If they say yes, they would have to pay more in some cases.

However, the deductions for children and education will also increase. CHF 12,000 could now be deducted instead of CHF 6,800.

Nevertheless, it is clear that the bill puts single-earner households at a disadvantage. One reason for this could be: Financial dependency is not only evident in good times. In Switzerland, around 40 percent of marriages end in divorce. Women without their own income are often at risk of poverty after a divorce and are dependent on state aid.

The main beneficiaries would be married couples where both work.

Example 1 (office-working couple): Roger and Anita earn the same amount. Together they earn CHF 150,000 and have two children. Their federal tax is reduced by around CHF 1550.

Example 2 (childless dual earners): Stefan and Hans are childless and together earn CHF 280,000. They also earn the same amount. Their tax is reduced by around 7130 francs.

Couples with unequal wage distribution often benefit too - as long as one person does not depend entirely on the other's income.

Example 3 (the woman with the mini-job): If Martin and Franziska together earn 220,000 francs and Franziska contributes around 2500 francs a month, they pay around 180 francs less tax. This applies even with an income ratio of 85 to 15 percent.

Individual taxation was adopted very narrowly in parliament. In the Council of States, a single vote was decisive.

Several cantons have launched a referendum. They criticize the specific implementation. They also warn of more bureaucracy. In future, hundreds of thousands of additional tax returns would have to be completed and checked.

The referendum booklet states this: There is a threat of a large increase in jobs and high additional costs for cantons and municipalities. Opposition is also coming from parties that do not want to make the traditional family model more expensive and are bothered by the tax cuts for dual-earner couples with high incomes.

Left-wing green parties and the FDP are arguing in favor of individual taxation. It was the latter that set the ball rolling for the current amendment to the law. They say that work "pays" and that tax discrimination against married couples should finally be abolished.