Ticino is capitalising on profits from land sales

In Ticino, the property gains tax is no longer to go solely to the canton. A parliamentary initiative calls for 40 per cent of the revenue to be channelled to the municipalities in which the sold property is situated. According to a simulation, this would have amounted to around 31.6 million Swiss francs for 2025.

Bellinzona is addressing a sensitive issue of distribution in the property market. The parliamentary initiative tabled by Patrick Rusconi, Michela Ris and Luca Renzetti does not focus on the tax rate, but rather on the formula used to distribute revenue from the property gains tax. It is precisely this that makes the proposal politically contentious for local authorities.

Under the current Ticino system, the tax on property gains flows entirely to the canton. In this monistic model, the TUI captures gains from the sale of property from both private and business assets. The initiative aims to allocate 40 per cent of this to the municipality in which the sold property is located.

31.6 million for the municipalities
Based on the figures for 2025, the initiators estimate that around 31.6 million Swiss francs would flow to the municipalities. According to this simulation, the canton would still retain more than 47 million Swiss francs. The measure would therefore not create a new tax, nor would it increase the burden on buyers, sellers or businesses. It would simply shift the fiscal share of property gains that have already been realised.

Pressure on the relationship between the canton and the municipalities
The motion is justified on the grounds of a growing financial imbalance. The municipalities bear a significant share of the costs of infrastructure development, urban development and local services, but under the current system do not benefit directly from the profits arising from sales within their territory. For municipalities with high levels of construction activity or a buoyant property market, this very mechanism would now channel money into their coffers.

Politically launched, legally still open
Nothing has been decided yet. This is a parliamentary initiative in the Ticino Grand Council and not yet law. Whether it will result in a change to the law depends on the further parliamentary process. Precisely because the tax itself would remain unchanged, the debate is now likely to centre all the more directly on the allocation of funds between the canton and the municipalities.