The Swiss Armed Forces operates on land and in the air, serving as the primary armed forces of Switzerland. Under the country's militia system, regular soldiers constitute a small part of the military and the rest are conscripts or volunteers aged 19 to 34. Because of Switzerland's long history of neutrality, the Swiss Armed Forces do not take part in conflicts in other countries, but do participate in international peacekeeping missions. Switzerland is part of the NATO Partnership for Peace programme.
A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of conscience or religion. The term has also been extended to objecting to working for the military–industrial complex due to a crisis of conscience. In some countries, conscientious objectors are assigned to an alternative civilian service as a substitute for conscription or military service.
The Federal Insurance Contributions Act is a United States federal payroll tax payable by both employees and employers to fund Social Security and Medicare—federal programs that provide benefits for retirees, people with disabilities, and children of deceased workers.
Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).
Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, reduced rates, or tax on only a portion of items. Examples include exemption of charitable organizations from property taxes and income taxes, veterans, and certain cross-border or multi-jurisdictional scenarios.
In the United Kingdom, inheritance tax is a transfer tax. It was introduced with effect from 18 March 1986, replacing capital transfer tax. The UK has the fourth highest inheritance tax rate in the world, according to conservative think tank, the Tax Foundation, though only a very small proportion of the population pays it. 3.7% of deaths recorded in the UK in the 2020-21 tax year resulted in inheritance tax liabilities. Other countries such as China, Russia and India have no inheritance tax, whilst Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Norway and Israel have all chosen to abolish succession taxes.
Zivildienst is the German denomination for the alternative civilian service for conscripted persons who are conscientious objectors to fulfill their national service, typically in the fields of social work and, although rarely, environmental protection, agriculture, and public administration. As such, it is exempt from the general ban of forced labor by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Referendum E was a 2006 referendum in Colorado to reduce property taxes for qualified disabled veterans by exempting a portion of the value of their home from property taxation. Voters approved the referendum 78% to 22%. A qualified disabled veteran would have a service-connected disability with a 100 percent permanent disability rating. It was approved by the electorate and became Article X Section 3.5 of the state constitution. Subsequent enabling legislation in 2007 removed military disability retirements as a recognized eligibility, leaving only disability ratings of the US Department of Veterans Affairs. No similar provision has been made for survivors of active duty military who die in the line of duty.
Since the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948, fixed-term military service has been compulsory in Israel. The draft laws of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) only apply to Jews, Druze, and Circassians. Because the Druze and Circassian communities are less populous, their women are exempted from mandatory military service altogether. Women from the Jewish community are not exempted, but serve for slightly shorter terms than their male counterparts. The IDF does not conscript non-Druze Arab citizens of Israel, though their men and women may enlist voluntarily.
Alternative civilian service, also called alternative services, civilian service, non-military service, and substitute service, is a form of national service performed in lieu of military conscription for various reasons, such as conscientious objection, inadequate health, or political reasons. Alternative service usually involves some kind of labor.
Conscription in Finland is part of a general compulsion for national military service for all adult males defined in the section 127 of the Constitution of Finland.
The nil rate band (NRB) is a term defined and used within the tax legislation of the United Kingdom which establishes the threshold below which some or all of the value of a gift, a death estate, or assets held within a trust, is subject to a zero rate of Inheritance Tax in the United Kingdom on an occasion of charge to Inheritance Tax. An occasion of charge to Inheritance Tax may not only be the death of an individual, but may also the date of a gift or of another act causing a transfer of value to occur from one person to another person, trust or entity.
Taxes in Switzerland are levied by the Swiss Confederation, the cantons and the municipalities.
Switzerland has mandatory military service in the Swiss Army for all able-bodied male citizens, who are conscripted when they reach the age of majority. Women may volunteer for any position. Conscripts make up the majority of the manpower in the Swiss Armed Forces.
Taxes in Spain are levied by national (central), regional and local governments. Tax revenue in Spain stood at 36.3% of GDP in 2013. A wide range of taxes are levied on different sources, the most important ones being income tax, social security contributions, corporate tax, value added tax; some of them are applied at national level and others at national and regional levels. Most national and regional taxes are collected by the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria which is the bureau responsible for collecting taxes at the national level. Other minor taxes like property transfer tax (regional), real estate property tax (local), road tax (local) are collected directly by regional or local administrations. Four historical territories or foral provinces collect all national and regional taxes themselves and subsequently transfer the portion due to the central Government after two negotiations called Concierto and the Convenio. The tax year in Spain follows the calendar year. The tax collection method depends on the tax; some of them are collected by self-assessment, but others follow a system of pay-as-you-earn tax with monthly withholdings that follow a self-assessment at the end of the term.
The Zivildienst is the most common mandatory alternative service for conscientious objectors of the national military service in the Austrian Armed Forces. Officially called Zivildienstleistender (ZDL) or Zivildiener it is common to call them Zivi. Since 1975, drafted men may refuse the military service on conscientious reasons and serve in the compulsory alternative community service instead. This generally involves work in social services like hospitals, youth organisations, nursing homes, rescue services, emergency medical services, and care of the disabled. The service usually lasts nine months. About more than 40% of the drafted male citizens in Austria choose this option by declaring a conflict of conscience. There is no conscription for women, therefore women are not obliged to serve as a Zivi, which is just a substitute for the still existing mandatory military service.
UN pension is a retirement benefit provided to people who have worked directly for the United Nations organization. It is provided through the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund (UNJSPF) under Article 28 of the Regulations, Rules and Pension Adjustment System of the United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund.
The Federal Tax Administration (FTA) (German: Eidgenössische Steuerverwaltung, ESTV, French: Administration Fédérale des Contributions, AFC, Italian: Amministrazione federale delle contribuzioni, AFC) is the federal office responsible for federal revenue collection and the application of federal tax laws in the cantons. It is subordinated to the Federal Department of Finance.
Value added tax is an indirect tax levied by the Confederation on the basis of Art. 130 of the Federal Constitution. As of 1 January 1995 it replaced the goods turnover tax (WUSt) levied until then. The VAT is structured as an all-phase tax with input tax deduction.
The Swiss Civil Service Association, best known under its abbreviation CIVIVA, is a Swiss organization that advocates for the preservation and expansion of Swiss Civilian Service.
