Italy examines the introduction of a “border tax premium” Berset takes stock of the WEF: “Switzerland’s neutrality was well understood”

Italy is exploring a “border tax premium” to give workers and businesses an incentive to stay in Italy rather than choose to work in Switzerland. The measure was presented by the Italian Minister of Economic Affairs at a symposium on cross-border work.

For the government in Rome, such a tax bonus would give Italian workers and companies the opportunity “to choose whether they want to work in Italy or in Switzerland,” Giancarlo Giorgetti said Monday at a roundtable in Morbegno in the province of Sondrio Lombardy. , reports the news agency Ansa.

The measure would come into force within a radius of 20 kilometers around the border and would benefit “those companies and workers who choose to maintain production and thereby create wealth on the peninsula”, said the minister, who is one of the figureheads of the far-right Lega is, in detail.

For the minister, the border regions face “absolutely unacceptable” competition and the danger of “productive desertion”.

New agreement between Rome and Bern

According to Giorgetti, the government would like to introduce this “tax-free” measure from 1 January 2024. The measure would therefore be implemented at the same time as the new double taxation agreement between Switzerland and Italy.

At the end of November last year, the Italian government gave the green light to a new agreement with Bern on the taxation of cross-border commuters. Today’s agreement dates back to 1974.

After years of negotiations, two protocols were signed in Rome at the end of 2020. They not only serve to prevent double taxation, but also regulate other issues related to income and wealth taxation. The agreement has been ratified by the federal parliament, but must still be approved by the Italian parliament. (aeg/sda/ans)