Immigration, the Council of States surpasses the Government's plans

The issue of immigration

The Council of States, explains Il Corriere del Ticino, has gone beyond the Government's plans on immigration. The tax requested, in fact, is intended to complete the safeguard clause that Switzerland can activate to limit entries if immigration is deemed to cause serious social and economic problems. Furthermore, for the "senators", the Federal Council should be obliged to consider the application of the clause in the event that the entry threshold is exceeded even in just one of these four aspects: net immigration from the EU, number of new cross-border workers, unemployment, and social assistance rate.

How the tax works

The tax is defined as "incentive" and would be linked to the activation of the safeguard clause. The tax would be at least 4 thousand francs for employees, for whom the company that hires them will pay, but it would also apply to the self-employed and to people "without gainful activity". The amount would instead amount to 2 thousand francs for adults who reunite with their family in Switzerland.