SWITZERLAND - The lower chamber of the parliament has voted to endow the Swiss first pillar with half of the proceeds from the Swiss National Bank’s sale of 1,300 tons of gold.
The AHV, Alters- und Hinterlassenenversicherung, also known as Assurance Vieillesse et Survivants, would get 50% of the proceeds.
The sale, according to Swiss media, follows the removal of the gold peg in 2000 which has brought in around 20 billion francs (13.2 billion euros).
The SNB currently makes 2.5 billion francs from the sale of gold – which is split between the cantons and the federal government, although nothing as yet has gone to the first pillar. The vote could bring up to 1.25 billion francs a year into the first pillar, reports said.
The remaining 50% is for the cantons – Switzerland’s administrative regions - which have so far received two thirds of the profits.
The decision saw the Peoples Party, the Social Democrats and the Greens win against the Liberal Democrats and the Christian Democrats.
The move could be a sign that MPs back an initiative whereby the profits of the central bank go the first pillar, after deducting one billion francs for the cantons. But they did not discuss this in yesterday’s session.
Finance minister Hans-Rudolf Merz , who is said to be against this initiative, was quoted as saying that if the lower chamber’s decision were upheld by the upper chamber, there would be ‘fatal’ consequences for the economy.
Merz stressed the central bank’s independence of political influences was put under question.
If the upper chamber sided with the lower and their decisions were endorsed by a popular vote, the cantons would lose 417 million francs, receiving only about 1.25 billion francs a year. And the federal government would lose out on 883 million francs.
The issue of the gold sale is going to be one of the hot topics of the summer, the Swiss press forecasts.
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