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Should foreign visitors pay extra to use Swiss motorways?

That’s the suggestion of one Swiss MP who thinks drivers of cars registered abroad should pay more than Swiss resident drivers for the annual motorway tax disc.

Should foreign visitors pay extra to use Swiss motorways?
Photo: Xantana/Depositphotos
Liberal-Radical national councillor Thierry Burkart told the media that the current system is “unfair” and that foreign visitors should pay more to use Swiss motorways.
 
The current motorway fee is 40 francs for an annual pass. 
 
But if you take into account the other taxes that Swiss residents pay – such as the cantonal registration tax and taxes on petrol – then effectively they are paying more than foreign drivers, argued Burkart in an interview with SonntagsBlick.
 
However others disagree with idea. 
 
“The motorway pass is meant to contribute to the maintenance of the road network,” François Launaz, president of industry body Auto-Suisse, told Le Matin.
 
“When driving on our motorways a car registered in Germany, Norway or Portugal isn’t going to wear down the road any more than a car registered in Switzerland,” he said.
 
Such a move could also increase the administration burden on border crossings, he added.
 
The annual motorway fee has long been the subject of discussion in Switzerland. 
 
In 2013 the federal government proposed increasing the fee from 40 francs to 100 francs, but the idea was rejected by the Swiss public in a November referendum.

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