Swiss do not want to limit immigration

Voters in Switzerland decisively rejected a proposal in a referendum to limit immigration to the country to 0.2 percent of the population, the BBC reports. Projections of partial results broadcast by Swiss state television showed that more than 74 percent of voters said no in today's referendum, reports the BiH news agency Patria.

Supporters of the measure claim it would reduce pressure on the country's resources, while opponents emphasize it would be bad for the economy.

One quarter of Switzerland's eight million inhabitants are foreigners. The measure proposed by the referendum suggested reducing immigration from 80,000 to 16,000 people annually. Neither the gold referendum nor the tax referendum passed.

Two other referendums were held in Switzerland today: one calling for Swiss gold to be held exclusively in Switzerland and for the share of gold in foreign exchange reserves to be increased, and another on abolishing the lower tax rate for foreign millionaires who own homes in Switzerland but work elsewhere and pay taxes at a lower rate than Swiss citizens.

Initial results suggest that neither of these two referendums received public support.