The communal multiplier: how your municipality's tax is calculated

The communal multiplier is the percentage that turns cantonal tax into communal tax. The mechanism is simple: communal tax is calculated by applying the multiplier to the basic cantonal tax for the same year. A multiplier of 90 per cent means that for every hundred francs of basic cantonal tax, the municipality levies ninety.

This is why two people on the same income pay different amounts depending on where they live. The cantonal share is identical; the communal share is not.

How the percentage is arrived at

The starting point is the so-called arithmetical multiplier, the ratio between the municipality's net requirement and the yield of the basic cantonal tax on its territory. It is the value that would, in theory, cover planned spending exactly.

The multiplier actually adopted may depart from it, which is why it is called political. A municipality may set it lower and draw on reserves or accept a deficit, or set it higher to rebuild equity or fund investment. The decision accompanies the examination of the budget each year.

For some years the canton has allowed municipalities to set two separate multipliers, one for individuals and one for legal entities. A municipality can therefore ease the burden on residents while maintaining it on companies, or the reverse, depending on its economic structure.

The coordinated multiplier

Alongside the one decided by the municipality there is the coordinated communal multiplier, calculated by the canton. It is not the percentage a taxpayer sees on their bill: it is used to calculate the equalisation contribution, the instrument through which municipalities with a stronger tax base support weaker ones.

The distinction matters when comparing tables. Anyone looking up the figure to work out what they will pay should look at the municipality's tax multiplier, not the coordinated one.

Differences between municipalities remain wide and weigh appreciably on the final tax bill at equal income. They are among the factors that influence where people choose to live, alongside rents and distance from work, and a recurring argument in the debate over municipal mergers.