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by mulmen 259 days ago
Abolishing rental tax is huge. What does that do for affordability?
4 comments

Not much. They are moving from a regime where owner-occupier mortgage interest is deductible but you have to pay income tax on the imputed rental value of your owner-occupied home, to one where you don't pay the tax but also can't take the deduction.

For most Swiss people, who rent, it doesn't directly affect them. And even for most owner-occupiers, they never pay off their mortgages, and so the two effects currently cancel out. It's mostly a handout to rich people who can pay off a house (or inherited one).

Destroys it. The change will immediately raise property prices 5-10%. The only beneficiaries are those who own property today. It becomes harder to buy property, while people who own property free and clear get a huge tax benefit and only lose a tax deduction they weren't using. Essentially, it is generational warfare in the style of Prop. 13 in California.
Why will property prices increase by 5-10%? How was that range calculated?
It's what Swiss wealth management firms are predicting.
The price of houses has just gone up because they have removed a real estate tax. Simple, and short sighted. The taxes need to be raised from somewhere so now let's see what convoluted and complex schemes they come up with to do that.
makes swiss landlords richer. Foreign nationals cannot own rental homes.
Not at all, it depends on the residence permit. With a C permit you can buy and rent properties, while with B you can buy only your own home
Not quite. If you reside in Switzerland, you can own rental homes. Just foreign non-residents cannot buy.
Can you go into more detail?
This only affects homeowners who live in their own property, not landlords. If you earn rent on your property, you will still pay income tax on it.