Important votes this weekend

A big voting weekend coming up.

The main federal votes include changing the tax system for married couples - currently they’re taxed jointly - the proposal is that everyone should be taxed individually. Polls suggest this is too close to call. 

Should the fee paid by households to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation be cut to CHF 200? It’s expected that will fail - but the polls are reasonably close, so there's a chance for a surprise. 

Even if it does fail, the fee will come down anyway thanks to a counter proposal.

The Cash is Freedom initiative calls on the government to make sure cash is always available. 

Campaigners are concerned with the rise of cashless payments systems, it will be harder for those who wish to use cash to do so.

The government rejected the initiative as it didn't like the wording, but has come up with a counter proposal which mainly achieves the same thing. It seems voters like the counter proposal - so the initiative is likely to fail.

Almost certain to fail is the Climate Fund Initiative. It aims to put aside as much as 1% of GDP to support environmental projects.
Polls show more than 60% of the people are against the idea, mainly as they see it as too expensive. 

In Geneva, voters are being asked if summer jobs for students should be exempt from minimum wage laws. Backers say it will create more jobs, but unions are against, as they say it will weaken worker protection.

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