Italy wants cross-border worker tax deal by end of year 

Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte have been meeting in Rome. Keystone / Filippo Attili Us

Meeting in Rome with Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said he hopes to see a deal signed “as soon as possible” between their two countries on taxation of cross-border workers. 

At a press conference on Tuesday both he and Sommaruga expressed satisfaction with progress made on such an agreement, which was negotiated in 2015 but has never been signed. Conte said he hoped it could be signed by the end of this year. 

The Italian Prime Minister stressed the “precious contribution” of Italian cross-border workers to the health system in the southern Swiss canton of Ticino. He said the coronavirus crisis had highlighted its importance for Switzerland.  

Sommaruga, who holds the rotating Swiss presidency this year, said Switzerland had learned a lot from Italy on how to manage the crisis. 

Both leaders welcomed the outcome of Sunday’s Swiss vote on immigration, in which citizens rejected ending free movement of people with the European Union. 

“In last Sunday’s referendum, the Swiss people once again said that they want the free movement of people,” Sommaruga told journalists. “It is a good thing for our country but it is also a good thing for the whole of Europe.” 

And she said Switzerland intended to keep borders with Italy open, despite coronavirus. “With neighbouring countries, Switzerland has adopted a regional approach excluding border regions and also cross-border workers from the quarantine regime,” she said. “I hope we can continue like this.”