Cross-border commuters Fewer Italians are applying for jobs in Ticino's gastronomy sector
One and a half years after the new cross-border commuter agreement came into force, the industry association Gastro Ticino has recorded a decline in applications from northern Italy. Well-qualified employees in particular are less interested in a job in Ticino.
19.02.2025, 12:12
19.02.2025, 17:25
SDA
On the one hand, this may have to do with the new tax agreement with Italy that has been in force since July 2023. According to estimates by Ticino trade unions, cross-border commuters will have to pay between 10 and 30 percent higher taxes due to the new agreement, depending on their income.
On the other hand, the trade unions in Italy have successfully fought for a better working situation in the sector, says the President of Gastro Ticino, Massimo Suter: "People who live a little further away from the border are therefore less likely to come to Ticino for work."
This impression is confirmed by Sonja Frey, Director of Hotellerie Suisse Ticino. In the Locarno region in particular, it is noticeable that fewer people from nearby Piedmont are coming across the border for work. According to reports, employees in the hospitality industry in the Cannobio region on the Italian side of Lake Maggiore are earning less than before, Frey told the Keystone-SDA news agency.
"No trend reversal yet"
According to figures published on Tuesday by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO), the number of cross-border commuters working in Switzerland rose by 2.9% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2024.
The situation developed in the opposite direction in Ticino, where the number of cross-border commuters fell by 1.1% to 78,683 within a year. Commentators from Ticino's daily newspapers speak of a "historic decline" in cross-border commuters. At the same time, experts warn against prematurely talking about a trend reversal.
Under the agreement that came into force in July 2023, Switzerland will retain 80% of the withholding tax levied on the income of Italian cross-border commuters. The new cross-border commuters will be taxed as normal in their country of residence, but double taxation should be prevented there.
