Swiss government even in on the act
"In a move that will split the country, it was revealed yesterday in 2 Swiss Sunday papers that the Swiss government are now proposing to increase the vehicle tax to include all bicycles owned by over 16 year olds in the country.
The move that would certainly anger a large element of the population, is being proposed to help fund the increasing state pension deficit , which will increase further with the introduction of a 13th annual payment.-other suggestions were publicly announced last week by the government but this one was not included in the press release.
This has been mentioned previously by the SVP, but the media reports this proposal now has now increased support as a funding vehicle for state pension deficits.
Each canton sets its own vehicle tax , and it was reported over 16 year old cyclists will have to pay 75% of the full cantonal vehicle tax rate from 2025 onwards with heavy fines for non-compliance.
Such is the concern for the pension deficit and the immediacy of the need for the funds, it was reported this change will be fast tracked through the various layers of government within 6 months and without a referendum showing how critical and important this policy change is seen centrally.
There was a stern ’ No Comment’ from government sources when approached by the media , so we will have to wait and see what happens next.
Bus companies and car driving organisations welcomed the change, saying cyclists should also pay for the privilege of using Swiss roads and far too often holding up other traffic on windy routes where overtaking is not possible and cyclists refuse to pull onto the side of the road.
1 million bicycles were reported to have been purchased last year here, so this is a potential huge income generator for the Cantons."
