Urgent need for Swiss/French teleworking deal

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Geneva business leaders and politicians say there needs to be an urgent agreement on cross border tele-working.

Due to the pandemic, there’s a temporary agreement which allows Swiss based workers to work from home – but that expires in June. 

The normal rules will come back into force which insists that any work done in France, should be taxed in France. 

The Geneva Finance Minister, Nathalie Fontanet, says if an agreement can’t be reached, Geneva will have no choice but to ban cross border tele-working. Her tough line is backed by the Geneva president, Serge dal Busco. 

Politicians on the French side are also supporting the need for a new agreement. 

It seems Paris and Bern are likely to accept no more than 25% of work to be carried out across the border - but Christian Dupessey, head of the Cross Border Operation Mission, says he would prefer a limit of 40%. 

Some on the French side, while generally supporting a new agreement, suggest there should be a geographical limit to prevent relocation – any new rules should only apply within a certain distance from the border. 

There’s still a chance that the temporary exemption will be extended once again - especially as French priorities will soon shift to their own elections due in the next few weeks. 

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