Fooling around with the Law




















Image to the Left: Honoré Daumier
Image to the Right: Christoph Blocher Copyright Dan Cermak

Foolish things are happening these days in Switzerland. Only a few days after a popular inititiave launched by the Swiss People's Party demanding for the introduction of a detailed list into the Federal Constitution of criminal offenses that would automatically lead to expulsion of foreigners from the country, the Federal Supreme Court has decided that it is unlawful to demand tax deductions for funding political parties. The case that had been brought before the court was provoked by two tax payers in the Canton of Zurich that had formally asked a tax deduction for a donation to a political party which they never had made.
By intentionally making a false statement in their tax declaration, the two citizens were able to bring their cause to all levels of cantonal and federal judicial authorities. Their abuse of the law produced a paradoxical result: while the Canton of Zurich intends to increase the amount of tax-deducible donations to political parties, the Federal Court prohibits it, explaining that political parties are of no use for the common wealth. Without political parties, a democratic society cannot function properly, and Switzerland has been fortunate enough to avoid state funding of political parties so far...
It was the privilege of the Swiss People's Party to continuously undermine the confidence of the citizens in our political system and into the judiciary, but now it seems that our Supreme Court has caught the deconstruction virus, too...