Keystone
Winterthur residents have to pay more taxes in the current year. The tax rate will be increased from 122 percent to 125 percent. This was decided by the city parliament on Monday during the budget debate.
The SP, Greens and AL would have liked to go even further than the center-right majority. They advocated a tax rate of 127 or even 129 percent. The increase to 125 percent will not be enough, they argued.
The failures in corporate taxes, caused by the tax bill17, would now have to be passed on to the population, said an SP spokesman. Other reasons for the city of Winterthur’s increased financial needs are the comparatively high social costs – and then there are the consequences of the corona pandemic.
A tax rate of 127 percent went too far for the center-right majority on principle. They wanted a tax increase “for what is really necessary,” as an FDP spokesman said. The patience of the population is already overworked. 125 percent should be enough. Instead of further increasing taxes, the city administration should learn to save at last.
Because the GLP is consistently bourgeois in financial matters, the center-right majority came about for the tax rate of 125 percent. When it comes to other issues, Winterthur is usually red-green.
Budget-free state over
It was clear from the start that there would be a tax increase. There was only altitude to talk about. The city council was actually on the line of the left and proposed a tax rate of 129 percent in its draft – much to the displeasure of the center-right majority.
It turned the budget back to the city council for revision last October. Because of this lap of honor, the city had to start the new year with an emergency budget. Since then, the city has only been able to make urgently needed expenses, such as paying wages. For example, felled trees could not be completely replaced because no plants could be purchased.
The budget now approved for 2021 shows a small plus of around one million francs. The city council’s first proposal was still planning with a plus of 11 million francs – another reason why parliament sent the proposal back.
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