Parliament approves transit tax across Switzerland

A transit tax will be introduced for road traffic that crosses Switzerland without stopping. +Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox On Thursday the House of Representatives approved a Senate motion to this effect by 173 votes to 13, against the advice of the government. The tax, proposed by Ticino parliamentarian Marco Chiesa, is intended in particular to address the problem of traffic jams on the north-south axis through the Gotthard tunnel. The amount of the charge is to be set according to traffic density, the time of day and the day of the week, so as to encourage vehicles to travel at certain times of the day rather than others. + What you need to know about the new digital highway sticker The government and the centrist Liberal Green Party, supported by some of the centre-right Radical-Liberal party, were opposed. Even if such a tax could be designed to comply with international law, it would be unconstitutional, said Liberal Green parliamentarian Barbara ...