GENEVA, SWITZERLAND – Geneva alone had nearly 1,500 signatures in favour of a public referendum on the tax treaty signed with Germany that didn’t make it to Bern for the deadline. And other late ballots are turning up, says public television RTS.
Thursday 27 September at midnight was the deadline for the 50,000 verified signatures needed to force a vote, but Geneva’s arrived in Bern only on Friday, and other communes also sent theirs too late for the deadline, according to RTS. Had the Geneva signatures arrived on time, the shortfall would have been less than 15 signatures.
The Swiss parliament has approved the tax treaty, one of three negotiated Rubik treaties. It is running up against stiff opposition in the German parliament. But in Switzerland parliament’s stamp is sufficient, unless a call for a public referendum has enough signatures.
The Federal Council said 2 October that it will not be on the ballot in November.
