Cantonal Council SO Solothurn adapts tax laws to amended federal law

The canton of Solothurn is adapting its tax laws to federal law and implementing various parliamentary initiatives. In future, associations will only have to pay tax on profits of CHF 5,000 or more and will be exempt from inheritance tax, as the cantonal council decided on Tuesday.

Nationally, the taxation of life annuities and collective capital investments has been changed, the government wrote in its message. In the canton of Solothurn, it is now possible for unemployment insurance funds to send their benefit statements directly to the cantonal tax office. And the tax law will be amended so that the tax administration can use artificial intelligence (AI) for assessments in future.

The Cantonal Council adopted the amendments in the final vote with 91 votes in favor and no votes against. Prior to this, amendments proposed by the SVP and the Greens had received little to no support from the other parliamentary groups.

No higher tax deduction for health insurance

The tax deduction for health insurance premiums and interest on savings capital remains as before. Originally, the government council wanted to increase the deduction by CHF 250 per adult to CHF 2750 per year. The preliminary deliberations of the Finance Commission rejected this - and the Government Council relented.

Heinz Flück (Greens) calculated that a family with a taxable income of 50,000 francs would only save 7.50 francs in taxes, whereas a family with an income of 150,000 francs would save 97.50 francs. Richard Aschberger (SVP) pointed out that high health insurance premiums were at the top of the population's list of concerns and that relief was therefore important.

Finance Director Peter Hodel (FDP) commented that it would be wrong to "make health policy about tax policy".

SDA