Frontier workers, tax war with Ticino: Bellinzona blocks 50 million refills

Context

Frontier workers, tax war with Ticino: Bellinzona blocks 50 million refunds

The Council of State of the Canton of Ticino has officially announced the precautionary suspension of 46% of the refunds of taxes at source due to Italy for the current year. A cut of 50 million Swiss francs (compared to a partial payment of 58.8 million), in reaction to the so-called 'health tax' that the Lombardy Region intends to impose on so-called old border workers with G permits.

Operational details

Frontier workers, tax war with Ticino: Bellinzona blocks 50 million refunds

Councillor of State Christian Vitta specified that "there is no suspension for Piedmont, given that the Region has decided not to carry forward the discourse related to the health tax". According to official sources, Ticino has blocked the refunds of 50 million francs destined for Lombardy.

Useful tools to protect your net income

To reduce FX leakage, compare CHF-EUR exchange options and banks for cross-border workers.

Key points

Frontier workers, tax war with Ticino: Bellinzona blocks 50 million refunds

The CGIL union has raised the issue of the frozen tax on refunds for frontier workers in Switzerland. The method of the blockade is interesting: Piedmont collects the entire 8 million, while Lombardy freezes 46% of the funds – underlines Giuseppe Augurusa, national head of CGIL for frontier workers –. Fifty million is a very significant figure, but it is the logical consequence of an act: that tax is constitutionally illegitimate because it introduces double taxation.

On the Italian front it seems to speak among the deaf, there is a theme of obvious political responsibility: do they really hope with this money to stop the flight abroad of nurses and doctors? Switzerland, in particular the canton of Ticino, is an important hub for Italian workers.

Evaluating a Ticino job offer? Simulate your net payslip: enter gross salary, marital status and municipality for a detailed breakdown.

Source: ilgiorno.it

Article 1(237–238) of Italian Law No. 213/2023 does not apply indiscriminately to all cross-border workers. It covers: (a) Italian residents who work and stay in Switzerland and use the Italian SSN; (b) frontier workers under Article 9(1) of the Italy–Switzerland Agreement whose income is taxable only in Switzerland and who exercised the legal right to choose health insurance; and (c) dependants of those two categories. Paragraph 238 sets a progressive 3–6% share of net Swiss salary, with a €30 minimum and an ordinary €200 maximum for each month worked from 2024. The cap may be doubled in cases of omitted payment or omitted communication specified in Article 1(100) of Law No. 207/2024. The Region of residence sets the rates and procedure each year.