Swiss Government Rejects Calls For Tax Cuts
The Swiss government announced
recently that it expects to post its third consecutive surplus next year due
to favourable economic growth and low unemployment, but has rejected calls for
further tax cuts. Despite the expected SFR350
million ($210 million) surplus in the 2002 budget, the Government is less than
jubilant. 'Given that we're in a period of strong economic growth, the surplus
should really be larger,' Finance Minister Kaspar Villiger explained gloomily.
'The budget isn't out of its misery yet.' Speaking at a news conference
in Bern, Villiger warned that increased spending on education, transport, and
development aid, coupled with proposed VAT cuts, could lead to deficits in 2003
and 2004 of SFr600 million and SFr400 million respectively. However, in 2005,
he said, the government envisaged that state finances would be out of the red.
The Swiss Parliament is
set to debate state finances, including the recently approved budget, during
its winter session. .
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