The Swiss Federal Council decided at its meeting on 16 October 2024 to bring the Federal Act on the Taxation of Telework in an International Context into force on 1 January 2025.
Employees without Swiss tax residence or domicile are subject to limited taxation under domestic law if they are gainfully employed in Switzerland. According to the case law of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court, Switzerland – based on the current wording of the law – may only tax the portion of employment income which is attributable to working days physically performed in Switzerland.
However, certain international agreements, in particular those with France and Italy regarding telework, grant Switzerland the right to tax employment income also in respect of foreign working days. In order to ensure that Switzerland can exercise the taxation rights granted, the scope of the domestic legal provision is being expanded accordingly. The relevant legal provision enters into force on 1 January 2025 and stipulates that Switzerland may also tax foreign working days in relation to its five neighbouring countries, provided that an international agreement allocates the right of taxation to Switzerland.
Also on 1 January 2025, new provisions for Swiss employers concerning the certification obligation for the automatic exchange of information on salary data with France are coming into force. The first exchange of information with France is scheduled for 2026, covering data from the 2025 calendar year.