As far as I know. If a foreigner gets unemployment, the state support is very limited after RAV runs out. However for citizens there is additional layer of state support
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Locals are forced to serve
Foreigners are not, we pay up
Itâs fine
That kind of formulation is being used by people who proposed the bill. But thatâs not the right way to formulate this in my view
Foreigners are not supposed to serve as per Swiss law. So asking them to pay for something that they cannot choose to do is unfair. as far as I understand even the Minister in govt had the same opinion.
First the law should be changed. But I am pretty sure it wouldnât be changed because who wants foreigners in military.
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Thatâs too simple.
Serving in the military is also expensive. After completing my 4 year job trainig, I lost a year in the military while my colleagues, who didnât have to serve, were advancing their careers.
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If youâre deemed unfit for military service, you cannot choose to serve either and need to pay as well.
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I think we are talking about different things.
There rules for Swiss citizens (military service and all) and perks that come with it ( voting rights , social safety and other things being a Swiss citizen)
And then there are rules for foreign citizens. There are no benefits like being Swiss for them. Not sure why are we comparing the two when they are not same things.
Having said that - if Swiss people decide to create a law to tax extra levy for foreign citizens then so be it. Itâs their right to pass whatever law they like to pass. It wouldnât make it logical . But it would make it legal . Thatâs all
I think, wether this should or should not be a thing, depending on how fair it is or other metrics, is off-topic for this forum. Else I have another whole category of people not serving because reasons to offer. @Dr.PI
What are you talking about ? The recent parliamentary decision concerns Swiss-French dual nationals. They used to be able to avoid Swiss military service by completing French military service, which is limited to one day.
The Swiss authorities considered this one-day military service to be a loophole âto circumventâ Swiss military service and amend the law accordingly.
For other dual nationals, military service in the other country is equivalent to that in Switzerland, and nothing will change (they will perform military service in Switzerland or in the other country).
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Check the posts above, the main discussion is about the proposal to have a tax for all foreign nationals resident in Switzerland.
(Itâs different from the change for swiss - french dual nationals which passed, the proposal above is also at a much earlier stage, it only passed one chamber and requires legislative changes)
Nationalrat will Sicherheitsabgabe fĂŒr AuslĂ€nder einfĂŒhren | Nau.ch
perhaps this article makes it clear. There is a motion approved on Thursday to make a proposal to apply a new tax on all foreigners for missing military service. Obviously they are missing military service because they are not citizens.
so letâs just call it an extra tax on Swiss residents (with a justification that they enjoy Swiss defence). Note this only refers to residents who are not citizens. Of course the tax that is paid via income and wealth tax seemingly doesnât include security 
I have never heard such a weird justification to apply an extra tax on foreigners. But since laws are made by citizens, it doesnât matter.
Yet another brilliant idea the SVP came up with over after a few drinks.
Rights and responsibilities go together. I canât see how they could possibly get such a bill passed without allowing foreigners to serve in the Swiss army as an alternative to the tax. As you say, the armyâs budget is already covered by the taxes everyone pays (whether theyâre Swiss citizens or not).
I canât see how such a bill could be passed without being challenged.
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Or just financial equality⊠As I said earlier: #55 by markus654
But I donât understand why this is just brushed off with:
Maybe youâre right that itâs unfair because foreigners arenât allowed to serve in the Swiss military. But right now, itâs also unfair the other way around. Serving in the military is expensive.
I know people who grew up in Switzerland, speak Swiss German as main language, feel at home here, but donât have to do military service or pay any military tax because they refuse to naturalize. During my job study, there were 2 or 3 people who talked about applying for a Swiss passport as soon as they were no longer required to perform military service or not have to pay.
All these people were able to start college sooner or focus on their careers earlier, while I wasted a year in the military. The fact that this is a disadvantage should also be acknowledged.
Thatâs why it just seems fair to me that thereâs a tax like this. And yes⊠it is a âforeigner taxâ if you want to call it that whay, though I donât like that term. And no, I donât vote for svp/udc 
However, I would also be in favor of opening up civilian service or civil defense to foreigners. Then what you find unfair wouldnât be the case anymore.
We could also flip it around and say: I think itâs unfair that I have to serve in the military (or do alternative civilian service) and canât just pay a tax instead.
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Agreed + voting rights + social welfare. And then itâs fair and square.
Same privileges , same requirements (military service / tax in lieu of)
but as said - I donât have much to say here regarding what happens. I donât have voting rights. So if there will be a new tax (under whatever branding) then I will simply pay. But this will be first of its kind in the world
Having said that I am starting to feel that CH is slowly becoming quite strong on anti immigration. Not sure if itâs good or bad for long term for Swiss companies who rely heavily on global talent and global markets to prosper. My home bias might be in trouble 
-â
By the way , your comment is more about Swiss citizens who pay tax vs who serve. I think thatâs the debate which should happen somewhere if people who serve feel they are disadvantaged specially because everything else is equal for these groups. But itâs not related to Residents vs Citizens because everything else is not equal for these groups.
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I think youâre onto something here. There is a long-overdue discussion to be had about what âdefenceâ actually means and how everyone can best contribute to it (which is beyond the scope of this forum).
It is also worth noting that, as things stand today, people serving in Zivilschutz (ZS) have to pay the military service tax, even though they may not serve fewer days than those in the army. This does not seem fair to me, especially since enrolment in ZS is not a matter of personal choice. I would argue that the work carried out by ZS is just as important as military service.
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Valid issue regarding long term Swiss residents ( C permit holders) growing up and not allowed to/ required to do military service ( and even include those who arrived later in life and got C permit before the age of 37 or the relevant cutoff age as applicable). If the proposal is to make this category of people pay military tax while simultaneously giving them voting rights, I think that would be fair. If voting rights are off the table and also asking B/L permit holders to pay extra military taxes is just plain anti-immigrant crap irrespective of how anyone spins it.
PS: I am a C permit holder, got it at age 35 (as soon as I was allowed to get it)
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Agreed that said I think people made it clear recently they werenât in favor of expanding non military service obligations.
Such a tax targeting foreigners (unless restricted to only non-EU ones) would also be a clear breach of the freedom of movement treaty.
But, well, itâs not a secret SVP wants to get rid of it, just one more angle of attack.
A French âtaxeâ is an âimpĂŽtâ paid for a specific service while âimpĂŽtsâ are what goes into the general pot. I would lump them with the anglo-saxon concept of taxes but it may be my English that is failing me.
Speaking as someone who has done his full military service and for whom it probably cost 3 years of gainful diplomed activity, I think military service, and the tax linked to not doing it, are and should stay linked with citizenship. It is a civic duty that comes with civil rights which foreigners donât enjoy.
Is it that obvious? Lots of countries have or had military service without having to pay when you donât satisfy the fitness requirements.
And the tax only applies when you donât pass the fitness test, or passing the test partially and ending up in civil protection service, people who opt out due to ethical reason (and do civil service) donât pay the tax.
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