Forschung / Research
Tax policy and tax reform in Switzerland
Topics include the evaluation of specific tax reform proposals - above all their effects on efficiency, equity and redistribution of income, administrative costs, attractiveness of location, and tax revenues - institutional questions such as fiscal decentralization, inter-cantonal tax competition and tax harmonization, as well as the evaluation of fundamental tax reforms for Switzerland. Particularly important is a detailed evaluation of current tax reforms, such as the reform of the Swiss VAT, the corporate tax reform, or the reform of the taxation of couples and families. Other topics are the monitoring of the international competitiveness of the Swiss tax system, earmarking of taxes, tax expenditures, revenue forecasting, tax compliance, tax amnesties, or the analysis of tax data.
Some results are published under http://www.estv.admin.ch/dokumentation/00075/00802/index.html?lang=de (Gutachten, Berichte, Arbeitspapiere, Notizen)
Smartvote: E-Democracy beyond E-Voting
Smartvote is a sophisticated online voting assistance tool which allows voters to choose candidates and parties in elections on the basis of their own political values and preferences. Smartvote increases transparency before elections.
Implementation in elections; potential for enhancing democracy; challenges to political process…
Politools Network: www.politools.net; www.smartvote.ch
Parlarating: Ratings of Swiss Politicians
Ratings of politicians are indicators of the political position of candidates or elected officials. Parlarating ranks all members of the Swiss National Council on a scale between -10 and +10 based on their roll-call votes. It is published annually in order to increase transparency after elections.
