Aininian equalisation referendum, 2009
| Aininian Equalisation Referendum | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Do you accept the Amendment to the Constitution of Ainin as herein presented? | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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Yes
No
The Aininian equalisation referendum was a referendum to amend the Constitution of Ainin in order to abolish the ban on provinces and prefectures from collecting taxes and to abolish the Equalisation Transfer Scheme.
The two choices in the referendum, conducted on 13 November 2009, were "yes" and "no", and the question on the ballot was:
Do you accept the Amendment to the Constitution of Ainin as herein presented?
Above the question was attached the proposed amendment, which read:
(7)
1. Section 117 is annulled.
2. Section 119 is annulled.
3. Provinces shall have the right to collect taxation on:
- a) Personal income and capital gains;
- b) Corporate profit;
- c) Sale of goods and services;
- d) All other fields that are not under the purview of the national government.
4. Prefectures shall have the authority to collect all taxes that the provincial or national governments devolve their responsibility to in future legislation.
The ballot question was overwhelmingly rejected by Aininians, with around 79% of voters voting no. Turnout was around 45%, which was high for a referendum. Analysis after the referendum showed that voters were concerned that the proposal would lead to higher taxes.
Results
The results of the referendum gave a damning and total rejection of the initiative. While most analysts had expected a no vote, they did not expect the "no" side to win by such a hefty margin. Opinion polls on voting day estimated that "no" would win with around 58%, but it ended up winning 79%. The discrepancy in the polling was attributed to the pollsters not realising how deeply unpopular the ballot proposal was in rural areas, instead concentrating their polling in urban areas where reactions tended to be more mixed.
In the end, all seven provinces and the territory of Concordia voted against. The highest share of "yes" votes was in Forestia, where it polled 43%.