Cross-border tax rebates, 500mila euro less for Malnate

Context

TL;DR

• Malnate will receive almost 500 thousand euros less
• The national fund goes from 89 to 108 million
• Refreshments will arrive in early November
• Nearly 1,700 Malnatesi cross the border every day

Key facts

• → Borderers' refreshments
• Place → Malnate
• → Almost 500 thousand euros less than last year
• National Fund → from 89 to 108 million
• Times → usually June; thisyear in early November

The figure for Malnate

Malnate will receive almost 500,000 euros less in refreshes this year than last year. According to what Malpensa24 reported, the mayor Nadia Cannito intervened on the issue, considering these resources relevant for a municipality such as hers.

Border workers' allowances correspond to the part of the tax revenue paid in Switzerland by cross-border workers that is returned to the municipalities in which they reside. The sums are intended to finance services and public works. The issue therefore affects the resources of the municipal administrations, but the source does not specify the total amount allocated to Malnate.

The mayor explains that those resources are linked to the work of almost 1,700 malnatesi, who cross the border daily.

Cannito highlights the link between the restaurants and the work of the residents of Malnate who cross the border every day. He also highlights that the national fund has gone from 89 to 108 million, recognizing the role played by the organization that brings together the Italian border municipalities and its president Massimo Mastromarino, whom he thanks.

The association, according to the mayor, has also committed itself to keeping the distribution criteria as close as possible to those used so far. It also asked the Region to send communications on the sums to the Municipalities without waiting for the opinion of the Budgetary Control Office, because such communications already have the value of a legal obligation.

However, the total remains lower than that required by the border municipalities. Deadlines also create difficulties: normally refunds are credited in June, while thisyear they will be included in the last budget change, scheduled for early November. Malnate will therefore only have a few weeks to plan and use resources for planning the entire year.

Operational details

From the national fund to the municipal share

The comparison between the data reported by the mayor highlights two different levels: on the one hand the national fund, on the other the concrete availability for the Municipality of Malnate. The source reports that the former went from 89 to 108 million. The arithmetic difference between the two values ​​is 19 million, but the text does not indicate which share of this fund is assigned to each Municipality.

This comparison does not allow the growth of the national fund to be transformed into an estimate of the sum allocated to Malnate. The news does not provide either the total amount due to the Municipality or a percentage of distribution. Instead, it reports the political-administrative data highlighted by Cannito: the fund has increased, but the amount allocated to Malnate remains lower than what the border municipalities asked for.

The reference to the almost 1,700 Malnatese also has a precise meaning. The mayor uses it to link the refunds to the work of those who cross the border every day; However, a calculation for each cross-border worker is not indicated, nor an individual sum. The mechanism described concerns the return of taxes paid in Switzerland to the municipalities of residence and the subsequent destination for public services and works.

Criteria and calendar

The position of the Association of Italian Border Municipalities also concerns the method. The objective indicated by Cannito is to keep the distribution criteria close to those used so far, while regional communications on the sums should reach the Municipalities without waiting for the opinion of the Budget Control Office. The source attributes to those communications the value of an already acquired legal obligation.

The calendar remains separate from the fund value. The usual arrival in June and the one expected in early November are the two available time references. A precise date for the accreditation is not indicated, but the mayor points out that the inclusion in the latest budget change leaves a few weeks to plan the use of the resources.

Key points

The political sticking point between Lombardy and Canton Ticino

The most delicate issue concerns the dispute between the Lombardy Region and Canton Ticino. Cannito argues that, just when the border municipalities were seeking stability, the Lombardy Region extended the healthcare levy introduced by the Government, the health tax, to legacy cross-border workers. According to the mayor, this decision triggered the clash with Canton Ticino.

The suspension dates back to June: Ticino withheld half of the rebates intended for Lombardy. Piedmont, which chose not to apply the health tax, did not suffer any blockage. The source compares the two Regions but does not state the value in euros of Lombardy’s suspended share.

Cannito calls these decisions political and warns that the border municipalities risk paying the price. Her request to the Region is to withdraw the health tax; she asks the Government instead to guarantee the border municipalities all the resources due to them, with certain timing every year.

For Malnate, the mayor assures that every euro received will be allocated to services and works. The reported problem therefore does not concern a different allocation of the funds, but the possibility of knowing their amount and availability sufficiently in advance to plan the municipal budget.

The source does not state the total rebates due to Malnate, nor does it quantify the effect of the regional suspension on the individual municipality. Nor does it report any individual impact on the nearly 1,700 people from Malnate who cross the border every day. The available figure remains the administrative one: nearly 500,000 euros less than last year, against a national fund that rose from 89 to 108 million and an expected arrival in early November.

The affair thus shows a difference between the national dimension of the fund, regional decisions, and the planning of municipalities of residence. To follow the issue of transfers between Switzerland and Italian municipalities, consult the page on Ticino-Italy tax rebates.

Source: malpensa24.it