What is the proposed share and maximum amount of the tax credit?

The proposal provides that each worker can allocate up to 5% of their salary or income from self-employment, with a maximum ceiling of 5,000 francs. On the money actually spent at the participating financial years, a tax credit equal to 25% of the expenditure made would be obtained. For example, with a gross salary of 50,000 francs, the worker would allocate 2,500 francs to the expense and receive a credit of 625 francs.

How many Ticino workers were considered in the simulation and what would be the additional expense generated?

The Youth Centre estimated about 170,000 Ticino workers. If 100% of them joined the initiative, the canton's economy would register an additional expense of CHF 850 million, coming from purchases made at local merchants participating in the program.

What is the estimated public cost to the State and what is it due to?

The public cost would be approximately 212.5 million francs, corresponding to the 25% tax credit applied to the 850 million francs of additional expenditure envisaged in the full membership scenario. This amount represents the burden on public coffers in the form of reimbursement of tax credits to consumers.

Tax credit for Ticino expenses: idea Giovani Centro (cross-border guide)

Di Marco Ferrari · Published on 28 September 2026

Lugano market with people shopping at local stores under an Alpine sky

Up to 5% of salary, capped at 5.000 francs, 25% credit on spending; simulation of 170.000 workers leads to 850 million in additional spending and 212,5 million in public costs.

Context

In brief

Giovani del Centro propose a credit for spending in Ticino.
The share reaches 5% of salary, with a cap of 5 thousand francs.
The proposed credit is 25% of the spending incurred.
With 100% of Ticino workers, spending: 850 million francs.

Key facts

Item	Value
Proponents	Giovani del Centro
Share	Up to 5% of salary or self-employment income
Maximum cap	5 thousand francs
Tax credit	25% of spending
Simulated participation	100% of Ticino workers
Estimated workers	Around 170 thousand
Additional spending	850 million francs
Estimated public cost	Around 212,5 million francs

Up to 5% of salary, with a cap of 5 thousand francs, to be allocated to purchases from local businesses participating in the initiative. This is the proposal presented in Ticino by Giovani del Centro through a generic parliamentary initiative: anyone who participated would receive a tax benefit calculated on the amount spent in Ticino.

A measure to bring spending back to the canton

The plan has a dual purpose. On the one hand, it aims to support families and the middle class. On the other, it seeks to prevent spending from ending up outside the canton or abroad, directing it toward Ticino businesses. The mechanism connects consumers, who receive a discount on their taxes, with local merchants and small and medium-sized enterprises, which can count on new revenue.

In the example outlined by the proponents, a worker with a gross annual salary of 50 thousand francs would allocate 2.500 francs to the Ticino system. The sum would be spent at local businesses participating in the initiative. In exchange, the consumer would receive a tax credit of 25%, equal to 625 francs. The calcolatore fiscale may help keep the salary figure and that of the proposal separate, without turning the example into a rule that is already applicable.

The Giovani del Centro simulation then considers a scenario of full participation. With 100% of Ticino workers, estimated at around 170 thousand people, the canton's economy would record additional spending of 850 million francs. The overall cost to public coffers, in the form of reimbursed tax credits, would be around 212,5 million francs. This is the scenario indicated by the proponents, not an outcome already secured.

For a cross-border worker, however, the practical link remains to be defined. The text refers to every employee and provides the same rule for the income of self-employed workers, but does not specify the position of those using a G permit. Nor does it clarify whether or how the credit would relate to withholding tax, AVS, LPP, LAMal, reimbursements or double taxation. The initiative is generic and leaves the definition of the technical details and the assessment of its economic sustainability for the State to further analysis.

The president of Giovani del Centro, Giovanna Pedroni, and vice president Luca Taglialatela stressed that the assessment will be up to the competent offices of the Council of State.

Operational details

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Useful tools for your case

To verify your within/over 20 km tax scenario, use the net salary calculator and the tax return guide.

Key points

Four steps to correctly read the proposal

1. Consider the text for what it is: a generic parliamentary initiative. It is not presented as an already operational mechanism; the technical details and sustainability still need to be examined in greater depth.

2. Identify one's starting point: employee or self-employed. The source provides for employees a share of up to 5% of salary and indicates the same rule for self-employed income. It does not add other categories or requirements.

3. Keep the calculations separate. The published reference is the gross annual salary of 50 thousand francs, with 2,500 francs allocated to spending and 625 francs in credit. simulatore busta paga can be used to read the gross figure, while the proposal remains a simulation and not an applicable provision.

4. Await the institutional step. The competent offices of the Council of State must assess financial sustainability; subsequent in-depth work will have to define the technical details. Only at that point can the reader verify which expenses and which businesses fall within the measure, based on the rules made available.

For a cross-border worker, operational caution is even simpler: do not attribute to the proposal an already-defined effect on one's tax or administrative position. The text indicates neither a deadline nor an office to which to send documents, so there is no documentary procedure to follow based on the source alone. The only concrete step already indicated is assessment by the competent offices.

The comparison with stores must also remain faithful to the proposal. The incentive concerns businesses in the area that participate, but no sectors, minimum amounts, or methods of proving expenditure are indicated. Presenting the credit as a guaranteed reimbursement would mean going beyond the content of the initiative.

To put gross salary, potential share and personal taxes in order, use the calcolatore fiscale.

Source: comozero.it

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the proposed share and maximum amount of the tax credit?: The proposal provides that each worker can allocate up to 5% of their salary or income from self-employment, with a maximum ceiling of 5,000 francs. On the money actually spent at the participating financial years, a tax credit equal to 25% of the expenditure made would be obtained. For example, with a gross salary of 50,000 francs, the worker would allocate 2,500 francs to the expense and receive a credit of 625 francs.
How many Ticino workers were considered in the simulation and what would be the additional expense generated?: The Youth Centre estimated about 170,000 Ticino workers. If 100% of them joined the initiative, the canton's economy would register an additional expense of CHF 850 million, coming from purchases made at local merchants participating in the program.
What is the estimated public cost to the State and what is it due to?: The public cost would be approximately 212.5 million francs, corresponding to the 25% tax credit applied to the 850 million francs of additional expenditure envisaged in the full membership scenario. This amount represents the burden on public coffers in the form of reimbursement of tax credits to consumers.