Switzerland rejects compulsory service for women and tax for the super-rich following one of the country’s most decisive referendum outcomes in recent years. Both national initiatives were defeated by overwhelming margins, signalling limited public appetite for sweeping reforms to civic duty and federal taxation.
Official results show that more than 84% of voters opposed the “Civic Duty Initiative,” which proposed a gender-neutral national service requirement.

Under existing law, only Swiss men must complete military or civilian service, while women may volunteer but are not obligated to do so. The proposal that Switzerland rejected — compulsory service for women and a tax on the super-rich — sought to replace this system with a universal model in which every citizen, regardless of gender, would serve in the military, civil protection, healthcare, environmental response, or other essential support roles.

Supporters argued that national service must evolve to respond to modern threats such as cyberattacks, extreme weather events, energy insecurity, and European geopolitical tensions.

They promoted the idea as a necessary step toward equal civic responsibility between men and women. However, the scale of the “no” vote reflected strong concerns about timing, feasibility, and social impact. Critics maintained that Switzerland rejects compulsory service for women and tax for the super-rich partly because mandatory service for women could deepen workload imbalances, especially in households where women already shoulder much of the unpaid care burden. Business associations also warned that expanding service requirements would intensify labour shortages.

In a parallel referendum, 78% of voters rejected a second proposal that Switzerland has rejected — compulsory service for women and a tax on the super-rich — this time concerning fiscal reform. The initiative, pushed by the Young Socialists, would have introduced a 50% inheritance and gift tax on wealth transfers exceeding 50 million Swiss francs. Revenue from this levy was intended to support nationwide climate-protection measures. Proponents argued that extreme wealth concentration undermines fairness and that those benefiting most from the economic system should contribute to mitigating environmental risks.

Opponents countered that such a nationwide tax would undermine Switzerland’s competitive, decentralised tax structure — a cornerstone of its appeal to multinational companies, investors and high-net-worth individuals. They warned that the proposal risked encouraging wealthy residents to relocate, reducing overall tax receipts, and threatening succession stability for family-owned businesses.
By rejecting both measures so decisively, voters signalled firm support for the current civic-duty model and resistance to large-scale federal tax changes. Even so, the debates surrounding gender-equal national service and climate-driven taxation are unlikely to disappear.
Policymakers may pursue narrower, more targeted proposals that avoid the sweeping changes that Switzerland rejects in this referendum.