Italian parliament ratifies cross-border commuting agreement with Switzerland

The Italian Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved the new agreement on cross-border commuting between Switzerland and Italy. The main purpose of the agreement is to prevent double taxation. Switzerland is also removed from the black list of tax havens.

All 120 senators present in Rome approved the agreement. The Chamber of Deputies had already unanimously approved the agreement on 4 May. However, some changes forced it back to the Senate, the smaller of the two chambers of the Italian parliament. At the beginning of February, it had already approved the agreement on cross-border commuting. The Swiss parliament in turn approved the agreement in March 2022.

According to the agreement, the Switzerland will withhold 80 percent of the withholding tax in the futurelevied on the income of Italian frontier workers. The new cross-border commuters must also be properly taxed in their country of residence and the country of residence must prevent double taxation.

According to the agreement, “cross-border commuters” People who live within a radius of 20 kilometers from the border and generally return to their place of residence each day. This new definition applies to all frontier workers from the entry into force of the Agreement.

Every day, about 77,000 Italian workers cross the Swiss border into the canton of Ticino. Most come from Lombardy.

(jam/sda)