Building on the latest tax forecasts for October, sent to the municipalities two weeks after the usual deadline, the Canton announced a darkening of the forecasts for tax revenue linked to businesses for next year. Thus, for the City of Geneva alone, the taxation of legal entities is down by 30 million francsoffset in part by an increase in personal tax revenue of almost 15 million.
In this context, the Administrative Council (CA) is very concerned about the tax cut submitted to a vote on November 24. The Council of State relied on the extraordinary results in the accounts of the last two years to formulate this proposal, but the updated tax forecasts show a very different economic reality. The tax cut, whose impact for the City of Geneva alone is estimated at 53.6 million, would thus have particularly heavy effects on municipal financesboth in the short and long term. This situation poses a substantial risk to the maintenance of services to the population and working conditions of staff.
In this context, the CA revised the 2025 draft budget. Various adjustments make it possible to free up an additional 5.9 million, while the constrained expenses increase by almost 700,000 francs. Taking into account all the elements in its possession, the CA presents an exercise showing a projected deficit of 72.9 million, compared to 63.4 million forecast in September. Without the planned tax cut, the deficit would reach 19.3 million.
At this stage, the Administrative Council remains awaiting the result of the vote. If this were to be accepted, the City of Geneva will be forced to submit a plan to return to balance in the Canton, in accordance with legal provisions, potentially having serious consequences for services and the municipal civil service. In fact, the exemption threshold set at –49.3 million for the 2025 financial year would then be exceeded. It was defined following the entry into force in 2020 of the previous tax cut linked to the RFFA.
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