In future, gambling winnings above one million francs will always have to be taxed in the place where the winner was located at the time of the win. Parliament spoke in favor of this.
The Swiss National Council, as the second Council, with 96 votes in favour, 88 against and 2 abstentions, submitted to the Federal Council a motion by former Councilor of States Roberto Zanetti (SP/SO). The majority of SP, Centre, Greens and GLP agreed and won over a minority of SVP and FDP.
The majority argues that there is a gap in the tax harmonization law. For example, if you win the lottery on January 2nd and move to another canton on December 30th of the same year, this winning will be taxed in the new canton of residence.
In particularly egregious cases, municipalities and cantons lost millions, despite having made infrastructure and services available to lottery winners for 364 days a year. This is due to the principle established by law that where taxpayers must pay their money depends on their place of residence at the end of the year.
The Tax Harmonization Act already provides for exceptions for special circumstances. So far the only exceptions to this principle are lump sum benefits from pension funds and payments in the event of death and for permanent physical or health handicaps.
This exceptional provision must be extended to large lottery or gambling winnings, Parliament has been told. The Council of States accepted the motion without opposition. The Federal Council also supported the request.
The gap is probably explained by the fact that once winning millions in the lotteries was extremely rare, said MP Zanetti in the first council meeting. Today, however, we always talk about double or even triple-digit million winnings. A change in the law would create “a little more fairness.” “Where people consume, they also pay.”
Opponents of the new regulation highlighted in particular the increased administrative burden that the cantons would have to bear due to the necessary coordination – only for around twenty to thirty cases per year throughout Switzerland. Furthermore, the cantons could intervene as early as today in the event of tax evasion.
In implementing the motion, harmonization between the cantons is also sought, which, according to the minority, represents a violation of the fiscal sovereignty of the cantons. In implementing the proposal, he now calls for lottery or gambling winnings to be taxed separately, similarly to pension lump sum benefits.
