The people of Switzerland are voting on Sunday in a referendum on relaxing strict citizenship rules.<br /><br /> The ballot is intended to simplify and speed up the procedure of naturalisation for people who were born in country but who do not automatically qualify for citizenship. <br /><br /> It applies to around 25,000 people whose families moved to Switzerland decades ago. They are mostly Italians but also from other countries including Turkey and the Balkans. <br /><br /> The so-called “third-generation foreigners” currently have to go through the same procedure as immigrants, including tests and interviews by officials.<br /><br /> A majority of the Swiss parliament supports the changes, but opponents have raised the spectre of “Islamisation” with provocative posters – one showing the outline of a woman in a burka with the words “Unrestricted naturalisation? NO”. <br /><br /> The populist Swiss People’s Party has said there has been too much “mass naturalization” in recent years, claiming people have been let in “who are not integrated”.<br /><br /> An even more provocative image appeared on the website of the party’s youth wing. It shows the silhouette of a man holding a rifle and the line “Islamists with a Swiss passport?”<br /><br /> Opinion polls show the changes are likely to be approved. Many Swiss had already used postal votes over the last three weeks.<br /><br /> Swiss vote on citizenship after anti-Muslim campaign AJEnglish #switzerland https://t.co/w0nF8S0u2m— Grahame Lucas (GrahameLucas) February 12, 2017<br /> <br /><br /> Tax breaks<br /><br /> Corporate tax reform is also on the ballot. People are being asked to vote on the abolition of a long-standing tax break that has attracted thousands of companies to Switzerland.<br /><br /> Instead firms will get tax breaks on research and development (R&D) in Switzerland as well as profits from patents developed there and other deductions linked to shares.<br /><br /> Opponents say the reforms overall will lead to lower tax revenue, and fear the public will bear the brunt through cuts in public services or higher personal taxes.<br /><br /> The federal government has pledged to give cantons an extra 1.1 billion Swiss francs (1.03 billion euros) to help cover expected budget shortfalls.<br /><br /> The stakes are high for Switzerland, already coming to terms with the end its long-cherished tradition of banking secrecy. If multinationals pull out, Switzerland’s economy could suffer.<br /><br /> On Sunday, Switzerland will hold a high-stakes referendum on adoption of a unified corporate tax system https://t.co/8AZ5CAnIwr RalphAtkins— HPS in Europe (HPSInsight_Eur) February 6, 2017<br />
