INTERNATIONAL

Swiss OK Gas Tax, Casinos: Swiss voters overturned a 73-year-old ban on casinos and approved higher gasoline taxes in referendums supporting government efforts to get the country’s fiscal house in order. About 54% of the electorate voted for higher gasoline taxes in one of three referendums, a federal chancellery statement said. The Finance Ministry, grappling with a federal budget deficit of $3.2 billion this year, up from $1.9 billion in 1992, says the extra tax of 46 cents per gallon is vital if people want to avoid painful spending cuts. The duty will add an extra $844 million a year to state coffers. The government plans to use half the tax revenue for highway construction and the rest for the reduction of federal debt estimated at $32.5 billion.