In a national referendum on Sunday, Swiss voters rejected a proposal to sharply cut the broadcasting fee. Early counts from the GfS in Bern show that only 38 % of participants supported the measure, while 62 % opposed it.
The initiative’s supporters had called for the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SRG) to be limited to what they described as an “indispensable public service”. Under the slogan “200 francs are enough” they wanted to cap the media fee for private households at 200 francs a year and exempt all companies from the levy. The fee is currently 335 francs; the existing law plans to reduce it to 300 francs. Proponents argued the cut would leave more money in people’s pockets and eliminate an unfair double burden on businesses. Opponents warned that it could lead to significantly poorer regional coverage. The Federal Council, Parliament, and the Cantonal Council had all recommended rejecting the initiative.
The day’s vote covered four separate national proposals. In addition to the SRG initiative, Swiss voters decided on a proposal to reform the tax system toward individual taxation, a climate‑fund initiative, and on the constitutional codification of the availability of cash. A counter‑proposal to that last issue, put forward by the Federal Council and Parliament and designed to underscore the National Bank’s responsibilities, emerged with a decisive 73 % approval. The individual taxation proposal passed with a 56 % majority (56 % in favour, 44 % against). All other initiatives were rejected.
