“The figures are clear: the concentration of wealth increases, in Switzerland as in Friborg. While the middle class decreases, a tiny minority of taxpayers sees its share progress spectacularly. The gap between the rich and the others has never been so great, since the Second World War, ”alerts Pierre Duffour, a graduate of the University of Social Sciences in Toulouse and the Idheap in Lausanne. Worried about this dynamic, this judge assessor at the Sarine court and secretary general of Attac Friborg, published this Thursday an investigation into economic inequalities.
Its brochure highlights in particular that, in Switzerland, “1% of taxpayers today hold 42% of the national fortune, against 27.7% in 2008.” In parallel, the middle class (fortune between 50,000 francs and 1 million) lost feathers (from 36.8% of the national fortune in 2007 to 26.9% in 2021), while the lower class (fortune of less than 50,000 francs), which brings together more than half of the country’s taxpayers (52%), has only 1.2% of wealth. Thus, in accumulated, the average and popular classes, or 92.8% of taxpayers, were shared in 2021 only 28.1% of the national fortune, against almost 39% in 2007.
Contacted, Sergio Rossi, ordinary professor of macroeconomics and monetary economy at the University of Friborg, agreed with the survey of Pierre Duffour. “Income and wealth inequalities have increased, even in Switzerland, where super-rich have greatly benefited from geopolitical tensions worldwide. While the purchasing power of the middle class and the lower class undergoes the negative consequences of these tensions, the big heritages derive profits, ”analyzes the professor.
For him, this digging of the ditch is a “big problem for many reasons. On the economic level, the loss of purchasing power of the middle class will affect the economic activities of many small or medium -sized companies, which will be led to restructure their activity and to dismiss a considerable part of their work force. This will also affect public finances, following a sharp decrease in tax revenue and an equally remarkable increase in spending on social policies. ”
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Tax wage inequalities
Among other solutions, Sergio Rossi considers that “the State should intervene with a tax policy which aims to restore social justice on the labor market”. Thus, it offers in particular to set up lower tax scales for companies that limit income inequalities and vice versa for others. “It would also be necessary to tax financial transactions which do not bring anything to the whole national economy, in order to reduce speculation,” he adds.
Friborg is not escaped
Although based on a different scale, the figures for the canton of Friborg follow more or less the national trend: “2.88% of taxpayers hold more than half (52.67%) of the cantonal fortune”, calculates Pierre Duffour. In contrast, the least wealthy, two thirds of the Friborgers, only share 3% of this fortune. “These statistics come from official organizations and are in free access. But you still have to want to face them in the face. From there, that everyone draws the conclusions they wish, ”comments judge assessor.
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