Image copyright EPA Image caption Voters took to the polls on Sunday to decide on the "No Billag" initiative and financial regulation

Voters in Switzerland have decisively rejected a proposal to abolish the national broadcasting licence fee.

The country was voting in a referendum on Sunday on whether to axe the mandatory yearly fee of 451 Swiss francs ($480; £348) per household.

More than 71% voted against the plan, which was defeated in all 23 states.

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) offers programming in four different national languages - German, French, Italian, and Romantsch.

Its seven television channels and 17 radio stations are mostly funded by the compulsory licence, with roughly a quarter coming from advertising.

The overwhelming defeat of the No Billag proposal, named after the organisation that collects the fee, came after a hard-fought campaign in the country.

Supporters of keeping the fee maintain it is essential to a small country like Switzerland, with population of just 8.4 million, to have a national broadcaster which reflects its cultural and linguistic diversity.

But anti-licence fee campaigners said citizens were being forced to pay for programmes they did not watch.

They accused the organisation of becoming bloated, inefficient and too dominant within the nation's media.

Voter turnout was more than 54%.

Image caption "Less variety, less Switzerland" and "Stop the licence fee!" - posters used in the referendum campaign

Gilles Marchand, the director general of SBC, called the rejection "a strong signal for public service and private regional radio and television".

He confirmed that the organisation would, however, be reducing its budget and focusing on "efficiency" following the vote.

The Swiss government has said that most households will see a "notable reduction" in their annual contribution from 2019 onwards.

Voters on Sunday were also deciding on whether to extend the federal government's right to levy taxes from 2021 to 2035 - a right that has to be periodically approved in Switzerland.

That was overwhelmingly backed at the polls, with more than 84% voting for the regime.</s>Voters in Switzerland look set to decisively reject a proposal to abolish the national broadcasting licence fee.

The country was voting in a referendum on Sunday on whether to axe the mandatory yearly fee of 451 Swiss francs ($480; £348) per household.

Early results show that about 70% have voted to reject the move.

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) currently offers programming in four different national languages - German, French, Italian, and Romantsch.

Its seven television channels and 17 radio stations are mostly funded by the compulsory licence, with roughly a quarter coming from advertising.

Supporters of keeping the fee maintain it is essential to a small country like Switzerland, with population of just 8.4 million, to have a national broadcaster which reflects its cultural and linguistic diversity.

But anti-licence fee campaigners said citizens were being forced to pay for programmes they don't watch.

The No Billag campaign, named after the organisation that collects the fee, accuses the organisation of becoming bloated, inefficient and too dominant of the nation's media.

If the proposal does pass, Switzerland will be the first European country to abolish a compulsory fee for its public service broadcaster.

Full results of the referendum are expected on Sunday afternoon.

On Wednesday, the government said that if voters decided to keep the fee, most households would see a "notable reduction" in their annual contribution from 2019 onwards.

SBC will have its revenue capped at 1.2bn Swiss francs - meaning its current budget will have to be cut by 40m francs.

Voters on Sunday were also deciding on whether to extend the federal government's right to levy taxes from 2021 to 2035 - a right that has to be periodically approved in Switzerland.</s>The campaign to end the fee portrayed an evil television stealing money. Photo: BillagStoppen

Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a proposal that would have cut taxpayer funding to public broadcasters, after a campaign that stirred debate about the media's role in fostering national unity.

Swiss voters on Sunday rejected a proposal that would have cut taxpayer funding to public broadcasters, after a campaign that stirred debate about the media's role in fostering national unity.

The "No Billag" initiative -- a reference to the Billag firm that collects the media licensing fee -- divided Switzerland on political and generational lines.

But 71 percent voted "no" to the proposals, according to official results published by the Swiss news agency ATS.

Read also: ·"Scrapping compulsory licence fees would be dangerous for direct democracy"

Rejection of the initiative was "a strong sign for the public service and for private regional radio and television," said the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) director Gilles Marchand.He said note had been taken of criticism of SBC and announced an efficiency drive and 100 million franc ($106 million) investment from next year.

No Billag's backers, led by the youth wing of the libertarian Free Democratic Party (PLR), sought to portray the SBC as an unfairly dominant and outdated relic.

Switzerland's largest party, the nationalist and anti-migrant Swiss Peoples Party (SVP/UDC), had also thrown its support behind the initiative. SBC, which received about 1.2 billion Swiss francs from the licence fee last year -- or three quarters of its budget -- delivers news in the country's four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansch.

Many credit it for guaranteeing that all Swiss residents receive information of crucial public interest in all four languages, along with a range of opinion and analysis.

But No Billag's proponents argued that freeing taxpayers of the 451 Swiss francs annual fee would unlock new economic potential, create a more competitive media sector and ultimately foster more choice.

The cost is due to drop to 365 francs next year, but everyone will have to pay, even if they do not own a television or radio after the government decided both platforms were watched and listened to via the internet.

Sunday's poll was part of Switzerland's direct democracy system, where proposed initiatives face a national vote four times a year.

Turnout reached 54 percent, nearly 10 percent above the recent average for such votes in Switzerland.

The campaigns are often muted in politically tepid Switzerland, but sometimes -- as with No Billag -- temperatures rise.

A broad political coalition along with prominent athletes, filmmakers and even the chief executive of top Swiss bank UBS, Sergio Ermotti, came out in defence of public media.

The committee formed to fight No Billag underscored the dangers of a fully profit-driven media environment in multilingual Switzerland.

It warned that with a substantial majority of the country's wealth concentrated in German-speaking areas, programming would increasingly skew to that audience.</s>Swiss voters on Sunday look set to reject a proposal that would see public broadcasters lose taxpayer funding, following a campaign that stirred debate about the media's role in fostering national unity.

GENEVA: Swiss voters on Sunday (Mar 4) look set to reject a proposal that would see public broadcasters lose taxpayer funding, following a campaign that stirred debate about the media's role in fostering national unity.

The "No Billag" initiative -- a reference to the Billag firm that collects the media licensing fee -- divided Switzerland on political and generational lines.

Led by the youth wing of the libertarian Free Democratic Party (PLR), No Billag's proponents sought to portray the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SSR) as an unfairly dominant and outdated relic.

SSR, which received about 1.2 billion Swiss francs from the licence fee last year -- or three quarters of its budget -- delivers news in the country's four official languages: German, French, Italian and Romansch.

Many credit it for guaranteeing that all Swiss residents receive information of crucial public interest in all four languages, along with a range of opinion and analysis.

But No Billag's proponents argued that freeing taxpayers of the 451 Swiss francs ($477, 391 euros) annual fee would unlock new economic potential, create a more competitive media sector and ultimately foster more choice.

The licence fee "doesn't work for our generation. It is too expensive and it funds a state system that we don't support", Nicolas Jutzet, a member of committee that initiated No Billag, told AFP.

The 23-year-old economics student at the University of St. Gallen was voicing a sentiment shared during the campaign by other millenials -- a generation that increasingly consumes media via the Internet rather than radio or broadcast networks.

Jutzet argued that people should pay subscription fees only for things that they actually want to consume.

"We choose other things -- our food, our clothes -- why should it be any different with media", said 20-year-old law student, Louise Morand, a Geneva-based member of the No Billag organising committee.

Switzerland's largest party, the nationalist and anti-migrant Swiss Peoples Party (UDC), threw its support behind the initiative.

Sunday's poll is part of Switzerland's direct democracy system, where proposed initiatives face a national vote four times a year.

The campaigns are often muted in politically tepid Switzerland, but sometimes -- as with No Billag -- temperatures rise.

A broad political coalition along with prominent athletes, filmmakers and even the chief executive of top Swiss bank UBS, Sergio Ermotti, came out in defence of public media.

The mobilisation was "exceptional" for Switzerland, said University of Geneva political scientist Pascal Sciarini, who noted that apathy is often the only clear winner during national votes.

The mobilisation appears to have been successful, with final polls before the vote indicating two-thirds support against the proposal.

The committee formed to fight No Billag underscored the dangers of a fully profit-driven media environment in multilingual Switzerland.

It warned that with a substantial majority of the country's wealth concentrated in German-speaking areas, programming will increasingly skew to that audience.

The committee called the measure "an attack" against the French speaking Suisse Romande region and warned that programming for the Italian minority would inevitably be hurt.

A spokesman for the public broadcaster, Daniel Steiner, told AFP that a "yes" vote would force SSR to shut down and that it would be "impossible" to ensure public interest broadcasting in four languages moving forward.</s>Swiss voters once again participated in the country's unique system of direct democracy on Sunday, casting their ballots on matters of national, regional and local import. Here are the key results.

1) A clear vote against the No Billag initiative

Swiss voters on Sunday overwhelming rejected an initiative backed by the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) which would have seen the scrapping of a compulsory television and radio licence fee in the country.

A total of 71.6 percent of voters rejected the initiative after months of heated debate in which supporters said the move would lead to a more politically independent Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) and opponents voiced fears scrapping the fee – essential to the funding of state radio and television – would seriously threaten national cohesion in Switzerland.

Despite the overwhelming opposition to the initiative in the polls, the SBC appears to have recognized the public mood by saying the vote marked a “turning point” in its operations. It immediately announced it planned to trim its budget to the tune of 80 million francs. The broadcaster, which has come under intense fire in recent months, said job cuts would be involved but refused to say on Sunday just how many heads would roll.

The second national issue in Sunday’s referendum was also settled with a very clear majority with 84.1 percent of voters rubber stamping the Swiss government’s right to harvest federal taxes, including the all-important sales tax, up to the year 2035.

The result was never in doubt but there was always room for a protest vote. This time around, the number of people protesting was relatively small.

In Switzerland, taxes are collected at the federal, cantonal and local levels. Cantons have fiscal autonomy and the right of federal authorities in Bern to collect tax must be regularly approved by cantons and voters.

3) More political transparency for Schwyz and Fribourg

In what could be a harbinger of things to come at the national level in Swizerland, voters in the cantons of Schwyz and Fribourg came out in favour of initiatives designed to bring about greater transparency when it comes to the funding of political parties.

Voters in both cantons backed the initiatives despite regional authorities having asked people to turn down the proposals.

Talks in Bern on this issue late last year stalled, but after Sunday’s results, there could be a new push towards the forging of national rules.

4) A defeat for the right in Zurich

Municipal elections in Switzerland’s largest city on Sunday saw Corine Mauch of the Socialists returned as mayor. The city now has a clear left-wing majority with the Socialists, the Greens and the Alternative List (AL) all winners on Sunday in a shift to the left that was larger than many expected. It’s a different story for the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) which lost six seats in the 125-seat city council. The conservative Christian Democrats also lost six seats.

Voters in Bern and Zurich on Sunday voted in support of the competencies-based Lehrplan 21 (Teaching Plan 21) strategy which aims to bring in a single harmonized school curriculum for all of German-speaking Switzerland for children from kindergarten to the end of the ninth school year.

They did so by rejecting a move that would have left the final decision on all matters school curriculum-related to voters.

The results in the two cantons means German-speaking Switzerland is now a step closer to have a unified school curriculum as is the case in the French-speaking part of the country.</s>Commentators in the Swiss press have interpreted the overwhelming rejection (71.6%) of the ‘No Billag’ initiative on Sunday as a strong sign of support for a publicly funded Swiss TV and radio service. Nevertheless, they believe that the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC) must downsize, and opinions vary widely as to how this could be achieved.

The Zurich-based newspaper argued that the “social foundation” for an annual licence fee for Swiss households – which currently sits at CHF451.10 ($482) – is “crumbling”, and that the corporation must therefore consider whether funds should come from the federal budget going forward. “The vote marks the end of an era for the [SBC]; they can no longer finance such a large variety of programs with publicly funded fees. The framework conditions for public broadcasting must be determined by politics,” the paper said.

The Tages-Anzeiger, another Zurich-based German-language paper, noted that Sunday’s vote illustrates how the Swiss model of direct democracy makes it possible for citizens to incite change on issues “neglected” by the Federal Council and Parliament. “Politicians failed to constrict the SBC, and now the company itself has come to realise that it’s time to limit its scope,” the paper said. “The SBC has been pursuing an aggressive expansion policy at the expense of the private media industry for years, and has become a giant corporation with an enormous number of channels and a controversial advertising strategy. Finally, the company wants to become more modest.”

It’s not over yet – this was the main message of the Basel-based paper, which foresees that “the next initiative challenging the SBC’s funding will be here soon” if key reforms are not implemented. “Despite the no-vote, the fundamental questions are not yet off the table. Public service broadcasting and its financing structure must be defined more clearly. The SBC should become a kind of news agency for audio-visual content which can be freely accessed by individuals,” the German-language paper said.

The French-language newspaper called the vote result "overwhelming", adding that "the challenge is now to find out what exactly the Swiss meant by this vote, and how politicians and the SBC itself intend to proceed”. The paper speculated that whilst the SBC has promised to accept criticism and move forward accordingly, a fundamental reform of the Swiss media system is still a vision of the distant future, noting that it will be interesting to see how things develop once the debate on a different distribution of fees begins.

The current media landscape deserves a thorough debate, wrote the French-language newspaper based in Fribourg. Like the SBC, newspapers also need to recognise the crucial role they play in public service broadcasting, the paper said. “This victory doesn’t belong to the SBC, but to the public, who understood that a purely commercial television doesn’t guarantee quality,” it added.

Geneva's French-language newspaper called Sunday’s vote “a watershed moment”. It added that although citizens did not abolish the SBC, they also don't want to preserve it in its present form, and that there is a “gigantic task ahead” for the broadcaster. The paper added that the variety of Swiss media offerings must no longer be ignored. The private press contributes just as much to the diversity of opinion and to a public debate as the SBC does, it said.



The newspaper in the Italian-speaking part of the country summed it up thus: “The SBC has been saved, but its future is a big question mark." The paper said that it’s clear now that the broadcaster will be cheaper, smaller and less “greedy”— the latter in reference to the lion’s share of funding it receives from the licence fee in comparison to private TV and radio stations. The paper echoed other Swiss media when it added that the debate on the future of the public broadcaster, and more generally on the public service provided by the Swiss media, has just begun.



The debate over public broadcasting in Switzerland also sparked media commentary in neighbouring Italy and Germany. Italy’s Corriere della Seraexternal link saw the strong support for the public broadcasting fee as important, especially for Italy, where the Democratic Party has called for the abolition of public broadcaster RAI. “However, this is not the first time that the Swiss electorate has come up with a surprise,” the Milan-based paper added. “In the 1990s, the Swiss people approved the introduction of a special tax to finance the high-speed rail network and the construction of the Gotthard tunnel, Europe's longest. It was even completed ahead of schedule.” In the German capital, Berlin, the paper Cicero tried to make sense of the victory for public broadcasting. “There are many things in a functioning society that we as citizens pay for without necessarily making use of: The childless pay for schools, motorists pay for the railways, and people who don’t care about football pay for sports promotion. There is general consensus that communities need solidarity in addition to self-responsibility.” Cicero added that regardless of Swiss voters' political leanings, it was clear that “no one was willing to sacrifice national radio and television on the altar of the free market economy”. The Stuttgarter Nachrichten in southern Germany highlighted that Germans also complain about the licence fee they have to pay and the kind of content it finances, but that “citizens haven’t yet distanced themselves from the basic idea of public broadcasting." The paper added that, "Also here, publishers are calling for changes in the business practices of the [public broadcaster], but haven’t dared demand its complete dismantling. That’s why it’s worth taking a second look at what happened in Switzerland.” It remarked that while the opponents of public broadcasting may have lost the fight, they found enough support to continue to rattle the SBC. The Süddeutsche Zeitung’s commentary followed a similar vein. It applauded the decision by the SBC on Sunday to announce budget cuts and provide more money for current affairs programming. “German broadcasters should learn from that. Broadcasting in Germany is in need of a new social contract. Switzerland already has one.”</s>On Sunday the Swiss Abroad — like their compatriots back home — came out against the No Billag initiative, which aimed to cancel public financing for radio and television services by eliminating the mandatory broadcast licence fee. In most cantons, the proportion of 'no' votes from the Swiss Abroad sat around or above 80%. 



The need to safeguard quality public broadcasting services appears to be obvious for the Swiss living abroad. On Sunday, they rejected the No Billag initiative by a crushing majority, according to an analysis of the results of the March 4 vote in the 12 cantons that count votes from Swiss Abroad separately. 



Whereas 71.6% of the Swiss population voted "no" on the initiative, the rejection was even more resounding in the diaspora, surpassing 80% in the cantons of Geneva (82.7%) and Basel-City (82.2%). 



Several reasons can be proposed to explain this massive vote by the Swiss Abroad in favour of public broadcasting services. Various studies have shown that the Swiss Abroad tend to vote slightly more with the political left than their countrymen and women in Switzerland. No Billag was launched by young, ultra-liberal politicians and supported mainly by the right-wing Swiss People's Party.

Debate on expats' right to vote

Sunday's vote also confirmed an observation made in previous polls: namely, that expats tend to to have more confidence in the watchwords of the Swiss Federal Council and Parliament than the domestic electorate. In this case, they also followed the recommendation of the umbrella Organisation of the Swiss Abroadexternal link, which opposed No Billag.

Finally, it's important to recall that the Swiss Abroad are exempt from the licence fee financing Swiss public radio and television. They therefore would not have benefited from the annual households savings of several hundred Swiss francs that the acceptance of the initiative would have brought.

The fact that Swiss expats can participate in decisions that do not affect them directly is a subject of regular debate in Switzerland. In 2015, on the occasion of a very close vote, the Swiss Abroad were also accused of having tipped the balance in favour of the introduction of a generalised radio and television fee, even though they would not have to pay it themselves. It's an accusation that it will be very difficult to frame this time, in view of the unequivocal results of Sunday's vote.</s>GENEVA — Swiss voters on Sunday handily rejected a proposal brought by free-market advocates to end mandatory fees to finance publicly supported TV and radio programming, a result that brought a sigh of relief to Europe's state-backed broadcasters.

Swiss broadcaster RTS — one of the stations that would have been affected — said a minimum number of Swiss cantons, or regions, turned down the "No Billag" referendum, spelling the end of the measure championed by far-right populists and named for the company that collects the TV and radio license fees.

RTS cited an early exit poll by the gfs.bern agency projecting 71 percent of Swiss voters had rejected the initiative, one of many held under Switzerland's distinct form of direct democracy.

A "yes" would have ended fees of about 450 francs ($480) per year levied on households. Large businesses also are required to pay.

The result is a blow for far-right populists who had sought an end to the fees, arguing that publicly supported broadcasters have an overly dominant position in Swiss media, and more competition was needed. They insisted the state-backed broadcasters should rely more on advertising, or levy charges for specific programs, movies and musical offerings.

Fee proponents countered that the Swiss should support domestic broadcasters and programming, particularly in a country with a high cost of living and four official languages — German, French, Italian and Romansh. They also worried that Swiss distinctiveness would be swallowed up by giving broadcasters in neighboring countries a big entrée into the Swiss market.

The vote was a particular threat for SRG SSR, the country's association of publicly supported broadcasters, which gets some 1.2 billion francs and 75 percent of its total budget from the licensing fees each year. The funds go to support nearly three-dozen regional TV and radio networks.

SRG SSR executives and their defenders painted a doomsday scenario of their broadcasters being forced to close, and mounted a powerful media blitz to reverse public opinion: Only a few months ago, polls suggested the measure would pass.

The head of German public broadcaster ZDF, Thomas Bellut, hailed the outcome, saying "the Swiss have sent a signal and made clear how important public broadcasters are for a pluralistic society."

In Germany, where households are generally required to pay 210 euros ($260) a year, the right-wing Alternative for Germany party has campaigned to abolish the fee, while accusing public broadcasters of being overfunded and spreading government propaganda.

Outside a Geneva polling station, voter Stephen Perrig, a 55-year-old neurologist, said paying fees for good programming was "like in health: If you want quality, you have to pay."

But retiree Regina Voelker voted against the fees, saying the Swiss could seek programming alternatives elsewhere.</s>Voters have the final say on a proposal to do away with the mandatory licence fee for Switzerland’s public broadcasters. Pollsters found no indication of a major protest vote in the past few weeks.

Following months of intense campaigning, the initiative by the youth chapters of two political parties on the right has put considerable pressure on the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC), swissinfo.ch’s parent company.

Under current regulations, every household and company owe an annual fee of CHF451.10 ($482) and CHF597.50 respectively to use the SBC’s 17 radio and television channels as well as their respective online services in the national languages: German, French, Italian and Romansh.



Revenue from the fee accounts for 75% of SBC income.

In a bid to reform the current system, the government last year decided to lower the fee to CHF365 for private customers and between CHF365 and CHF35,590 for bigger companies. The financial contribution to the SBC channels is to be capped at CHF1.2 billion annually, with the more than 30 private broadcasters receiving a bigger share.

The SBC has been under pressure notably from the political right and from private publishers for several years. In 2015, an attempt led by the Federation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to thwart a change in the funding system narrowly failed at the ballot box.

A year later, voters rejected an initiative to boost the public service sector.

Supporters of the initiative – the rightwing Swiss People’s Party and libertarian groups seeking to limit the scope of state intervention – argue the SBC is too dominant, stifling competition by private media companies.

The Federation of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, which has led the latest campaign, criticises the fee as unfair for companies.

However, most other political parties, institutions and organisations as well as the government have recommended voters reject the initiative. They say scrapping the licence fee would spell the end of the SBC, a key institution for the cohesion of the multilingual country and for a functioning democracy.

There is also concern that the quality of the Swiss media would suffer as private publishers are hoping to extend their influence on politics if the mandatory fee is abolished.

Public attention has been high and debates both in traditional and social media intense, according to experts. They also noted a broad involvement of the civil society in the public debate.

Campaigning has lasted for more than four months, an unusually long period of time, with heightened media attention during and after the final parliamentary debate in October.

Communications Minister Doris Leuthard officially launched the government campaign in mid-December, followed by numerous panels across the country. Public interest appeared to be waning in the weeks ahead of the vote.

Turnout is expected to be 45%-50%, barely more than average for nationwide votes.

The latest opinion poll published last week found about two-thirds of respondents saying they would reject the initiative.

Researchers of the GfS Bern institute said there was no indication of a major protest vote against the government on Sunday.

However, they did not rule out that the initiative could win a majority of voters in the Italian-speaking part of the country. Both the French- and the German-speaking regions looked poised to throw it out.

Over the course of the campaign, the percentage of initiative opponents has been on the increase overall while supporters saw their share slip.

The people’s initiative aimed at doing away with the public broadcast licence fee is one of two issues coming to a nationwide vote. Voters also decide on a constitutional amendment approved by parliamentary to extend for another 15 years the right of the national government to raise taxes. It is the first of up to four sets of nationwide votes this year.

 The proposal to abolish the licence fee is the 210th people’s initiative to be voted on in Swiss history. Twenty-two have been approved in nearly 130 years.</s>ZURICH, March 4 (Reuters) - Swiss citizens clearly rejected an attempt to abolish fees for state radio and TV in a referendum vote on Sunday seen as protecting public service broadcasting in the country.

Had the proposal passed, Switzerland would have been the first European country to abolish mandatory licence fees for its public service broadcaster.

Nearly 72 percent voted against the proposal to scrap the so-called Billag fees in a referendum under Switzerland's system of direct democracy.

Every household pays a 451 Swiss franc ($480.8) annual charge to fund Swiss public broadcasters. Their budgets faced being cut by three quarters if the vote had been successful.

Communications minister Doris Leuthard said she was pleased Swiss voters had shown they were prepared to pay a fee for public services and did not want purely commercial broadcasting.

The Swiss government had opposed the proposal, saying it threatened media diversity and would damage political debate in the country of 8.4 million people divided into four different language groups.

"Radio and television in Switzerland should also in the future contribute to education, cultural development, forming opinions as well as entertainment," she told a news conference. "I am pleased that media diversity has been maintained."

Broadcasters should continue to serve all Swiss, Leuthard added.

Opponents had said abolishing the fee would lead to reduced independence for broadcasters and undermine services for Switzerland's four different linguistic regions.

Campaigners against the fee had argued that state broadcaster SRG was too large and must save money. They also said that charging fees had become outmoded, especially in an era of streaming services such as Netflix.

"At present we have a near monopoly with a state-controlled broadcasting company. But by cutting down the subsidy it receives, a freer market for the media will exist in Switzerland," said Florian Maier, secretary general of the No Billag campaign.

In a second vote on Sunday, 84.1 percent of voters approved extending the government's right to levy income and sales taxes to 2035.

Unlike other countries, Switzerland gives the central government the right to raise taxes only for a limited time, with the current arrangement due to finish at the end of 2020.
Swiss voters reject a proposal to scrap the television licence fee that provides the majority of funding for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation. Swiss voters also approve the right of the federal government to levy VAT and direct federal tax until 2025.