12% Initiative: Stop brandishing fear

Opponents of Vaud’s initiative to cut cantonal income and wealth taxes by 12% warn that schools could close, hospitals could reduce services and even Château de Chillon could be threatened. Florence Bettschart-Narbel, president of the Vaud Liberal-Radical Party and a member of the cantonal parliament, calls those warnings a campaign built on fear.

In her view, the initiative would not condemn public services or subsidized institutions. Instead, a tax reduction would force the state to decide which spending deserves priority.

Bettschart-Narbel argues that claims about unavoidable damage to essential services do not amount to a serious discussion of public finances. Vaud’s revenues exceed 12 billion Swiss francs, she notes, and she rejects the idea that the canton could not absorb a 12% reduction without attacking core services.

She presents the proposal as a way to restore the canton’s fiscal attractiveness while requiring better control over spending. The debate, she argues, should focus on financial priorities rather than apocalyptic predictions.