Partners Group founder backs tax on companies hiring EU workers

Gantner estimates the proposal could generate CHF 1.35 billion each year. He wants that money distributed to the population, creating a visible return from a charge linked to immigration.

His suggested distribution would prioritise lower earners. Gantner told Schweiz am Wochenende that a four-person household could receive around CHF 4,000 a year if the money were focused on people with the lowest incomes. The source does not set out the eligibility rules, the payment mechanism or whether the benefit would be taxable.

The figures point to a redistribution model rather than a levy whose sole purpose would be to finance administration. The proposal would collect money from companies hiring EU workers and send it back to residents, with the largest relative benefit intended for households on lower incomes. That design could give the measure an appeal beyond immigration policy, particularly as living costs and pressure on household budgets remain central concerns in Swiss politics.

The arithmetic also highlights the scale of the plan. CHF 1.35 billion annually is an estimate, not a budget figure approved by the federal government. Actual receipts would depend on the number of EU workers hired, their salaries, the tax brackets and employers’ responses to the added cost. None of those implementation details has yet been established in the proposal described by Bloomberg.

The proposal enters a political debate that has already reached the Swiss Senate. On September 29, 2026, the Council of States was reported to have taken a tougher position than the government on the safeguard clause concerning immigration. That discussion provides the immediate backdrop for Gantner’s call for a company levy.

The safeguard clause is part of the wider effort to manage Switzerland’s relationship with the European Union and the movement of people. Gantner’s plan would focus on employers and recruitment costs, adding a market-based penalty to the political toolkit. The available source does not say whether the proposal is being considered formally by the Federal Council or Parliament.

Gantner has also built an organisation around his broader EU position. He and the other Partners Group co-founders formed Kompass Europa, a group that campaigns against closer Swiss ties with the bloc. That affiliation places the tax proposal within a wider political programme, even though the measure itself is framed around labour-market incentives and household payments.

For Swiss companies, the details would matter. A levy that applies to all EU hires could affect sectors with persistent recruitment needs, while exemptions, salary bands and enforcement would determine how broadly it reaches. The source provides no sector-by-sector assessment or response from employers, unions or federal authorities.

The proposal would need a detailed legal and economic design before it could move beyond advocacy. Policymakers would have to define which workers qualify as EU hires, how employers report recruitment, how the salary rate is calculated and where the revenue is collected. The source gives only the broad parameters: a charge of 1% to 5% over five years, paid by companies, with proceeds returned to residents.

The plan also leaves open how it would interact with Switzerland’s agreements with the EU. Any measure that treated EU workers or employers differently would require careful examination against the legal framework governing the free movement of people. The available reporting does not include a government assessment, a legal opinion or a reaction from the European Union.

Gantner’s case will now compete with other priorities in the immigration debate: labour shortages, wage levels, pressure on infrastructure and the demand for skilled workers. A higher cost for foreign recruitment could encourage companies to train and promote Swiss residents. It could also raise costs for employers that rely on international hiring, depending on how widely the levy applied.

For now, the proposal is a campaign from one of Switzerland’s most prominent finance figures, not enacted policy. Its next test will be whether political parties, employers and voters treat the suggested CHF 1.35 billion annual revenue as a workable reform or as an argument for a different approach.