Press release For immediate distribution
Creation of the GDIPRS Montreux-Riviera-Villeneuve to Combat Abusive Increases in Tourist Tax
Montreux, Switzerland - [January 18, 2024] - In response to the drastic and perceived unfair increase in the tourist tax in the Montreux-Riviera-Villeneuve region, the Groupement de défense des intérêts des propriétaires de résidences secondaires (GDIPRS) was officially launched on January 3, 2024. Faced with a new method of calculating the tourist tax, perceived as disproportionate and unfair by owners, the association is committed to vigorously defending their rights. GDIPRS president Mathieu Janin stresses the disproportionate impact of this tax, which is particularly unfair to owners of small residences. GDIPRS is calling for collective action to legally challenge these increases and support affected homeowners in the communes of Blonay-Saint-Légier, Chardonne, Corseaux and beyond.
Faced with significant increases in the tourist tax in Switzerland, the Groupement de défense des intérêts des propriétaires de résidences secondaires (GDIPRS) in the Montreux-Riviera-Villeneuve region was created on January 3, 2024 in response to the receipt just before Christmas of the new 2023 intermunicipal tax on second homes. The association's mission is to defend the rights of second-home owners affected by these increases.
The commune of Neuchâtel recently increased its tourist tax from 3 francs to 4.20 francs to support the Neuchâtel Tourist Card. This increase is representative of a trend observed in several Swiss communes. In Montreux and Saas-Fee, for example, the tourist tax has risen to 7 francs, almost eight times more expensive than in Zug (90 centimes) (source: Blick.ch). These significant disparities, and the additional burdens they place on second-home owners, were the impetus behind the creation of GDIPRS.
Mathieu Janin, President of GDIPRS, emphasizes: "Second home owners are not cash cows that can be milked indefinitely. Many of our members are retirees who simply can't afford to finance an increase in tourist tax that sometimes exceeds 1000% over the old rate! The new tax on second homes takes no account of property value. Each room in our residences is now billed at CHF 400 per year, regardless of its value and occupancy. The owner of a loft worth several million francs on Montreux's Grand-Rue is now billed CHF 400 per year, while some smaller, less valuable chalets with a large number of small rooms are billed up to CHF 2,800 per year. This flat-rate method of calculation, which takes no account of property value, is particularly unfair to owners of small chalets in the Vaud Pre-Alps, and we will be challenging it with all the legal means at our disposal."
GDIPRS invites all owners of second homes in the communes of Blonay-Saint-Légier, Chardonne, Corseaux, Corsier-sur-Vevey, Jongny, Montreux, La Tour-de-Peilz, Vevey, Veytaux, and Villeneuve, as well as hotel and para-hotel service providers from the above-mentioned communes, to join the association and benefit from the leverage effect of pooling the actions to be taken to have these regulations amended as quickly as possible, specialized legal support, regular information on legislative changes and a solidarity network. GDIPRS is mobilizing for effective collective action against increases deemed unfair.
For more information or to join GDIPRS, please visit https://gdiprs.org
Media contact:
Mathieu Janin, GDIPRS President mathieu@janin.ch +41 79 692 62 36
Mathieu Janin, GDIPRS President mathieu@janin.ch +41 79 692 62 36
About GDIPRS Montreux-Riviera-Villeneuve : GDIPRS is a non-profit association founded to defend the interests of second-home owners, particularly in the face of abusive tax increases, and to promote tax justice in the Montreux-Riviera-Villeneuve region.
