Swiss government presses ahead with VAT rise to fund army despite opposition

2026-03-06 - 18:03

The federal government is sticking to its plan to raise value-added tax (VAT) by 0.8 percentage points over ten years to finance the army, despite heavy criticism. The increase is intended to generate an additional CHF 31bn ($40bn) for defence and security. To strengthen Switzerland’s security and defence capabilities, the government proposes to raise VAT