Short News August 11,2023

Russia

Double taxation agreement with Switzerland

Russia has announced that it would also like to freeze the double taxation agreement with Switzerland. However, this has not yet been officially announced, so the double taxation agreement can still be applied from a Swiss perspective. A total of 30 countries are said to be affected by the freezing of double taxation agreements. These include several EU states as well as the USA.

If the double taxation agreement is no longer applicable, income from employment, interest, and dividends, among other things, can be taxed in both countries.

Luxembourg

New permit cards for foreigners

The EU intends to increase the security of recognition of permit cards issued by EU member states. In this context, the EU member states are required to take the corresponding precautions. Accordingly, paper foreigner identity cards were still valid in Luxembourg until 3 August 2023, by which time the foreigner identity cards were also to be exchanged. The new alien's identity cards will contain biometric data and will be issued in credit card format.

People who still have a paper foreigner's identity card must exchange it as soon as possible, otherwise, they may have problems traveling.

Slovenia

Amendment of immigration regulations

Slovenia wants to attract more non-EU nationals to the country to help alleviate the skills shortage problem. The new regulations include:

  • It is easier to change jobs: No written consent from the immigration authority (Administrative Unit) is now required, but the "Employment Service office" adjusts the change from the job or employer.
  • Verification of financial requirements: Only when entering the country and applying for the permit for the first time, the income or financial means are checked. This check, which has so far been carried out periodically, is intended to ensure that the foreigners moving in can afford to live in Slovenia themselves.

As of November 2024, however, stricter regulations will be introduced about the language requirements for obtaining a permanent residence permit. As of this date, a language certificate with the A2 level of the Slovenian language must be presented. This is intended to improve the integration of foreigners.

Kurznachrichten 11. August 2023

Russland

Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen mit der Schweiz

Russland hat bekannt gegeben, dass sie unter anderem auch das Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen mit der Schweiz einfrieren lassen möchten. Allerdings ist bis jetzt dies noch nicht offiziell bestätigt worden, sodass aus Schweizer Sicht das Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen nach wie vor noch angewendet werden kann. Insgesamt sollen von der Einfrierung der Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen 30 Länder betroffen sein. Darunter zählen auch mehrere EU-Staaten sowie die USA. Sofern das Doppelbesteuerungsabkommen nicht mehr zur Anwendung kommt, können u.a. Erwerbseinkommen sowie Zinsen und Dividenden in beiden Ländern besteuert werden.

Luxemburg

Neue Ausländerausweise

Die EU beabsichtigt, die Sicherheit der Erkennung von Ausweisen, welche von EU-Mitgliedsstaaten ausgestellt werden, zu erhöhen. In diesem Rahmen sind die EU-Mitgliedsstaaten angehalten, die entsprechenden Vorkehrungen zu treffen. Dementsprechend waren in Luxemburg bis zum 3. August 2023 noch Ausländerausweise in Papierform gültig, wobei bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt auch die Ausländerausweise umgetauscht werden sollten. Die neuen Ausländerausweise erhalten die biometrischen Daten und werden im Kreditkarten-Format ausgestellt.

Personen, welche immer noch einen Ausländerausweis in Papierform haben, müssen diesen schnellstmöglich umtauschen, denn ansonsten könnten Sie Probleme beim Reisen bekommen.

Slowenien

Änderung der Bewilligungsvorschriften

Slowenien möchte vermehrt Nicht-EU-Staatsbürger in das Land holen, um so die Fachkräftemangel-Problematik abfedern zu können. Zu den neuen Regelungen zählen u.a.:

  • Die Arbeitsstelle kann einfacher gewechselt werden: Es ist keine schriftliche Zustimmung der Bewilligungsbehörde (Administrative Unit) notwendig, sondern das «Employment Service office» passt die Änderung von der Stelle oder dem Arbeitgeber an.
  • Prüfung der finanziellen Voraussetzungen: Lediglich bei der Einreise und der ersten Beantragung der Bewilligung wird das Einkommen bzw. die finanziellen Mittel überprüft. Mit dieser Überprüfung, die bisher periodisch vorgenommen wurde, will man sicherstellen, dass die zuziehenden Ausländer sich selbst das Leben in Slowenien leisten können.

Per November 2024 werden allerdings in Bezug auf den Erhalt von einer Daueraufenthaltsbewilligung bezüglich den Spracherfordernissen auch strengere Regelungen eingeführt. Ab diesem Zeitpunkt muss ein Sprachzertifikat mit dem A2- Level der slowenischen Sprache vorgelegt werden. Dies soll bezüglich der besseren Integration von Ausländern dienen.

Best Practice

Project assignments in Switzerland: notification procedure or 120-day permit?

Many projects in Switzerland cannot be carried out without the deployment of people from abroad. However, it is not so easy for foreign companies to find the right information so that they can take all the right precautions.

In practice, we see that this is particularly difficult around permits. On the one hand, there are 26 cantons in Switzerland, some of which have different processes and procedures, and on the other hand, there is often the opinion that EU citizens do not need a permit. In principle, however, every non-Swiss national with an employer abroad needs a work permit for a project assignment in Switzerland.

Case study:

The management consultancy Consult Germany AG has won a major contract with Drinks Switzerland AG. They are to develop a new expansion strategy and support its implementation. Drinks Switzerland AG does not have the necessary capacity or know-how for this. When they were looking for the right company for this task, they came across Consult Germany AG.

It was agreed that the development of a new expansion strategy and its implementation could take several months and, due to the size of Drinks Switzerland AG, would also require several people

The project plan foresees that the project will take 18 months and that between 8-10, people will be on-site in Switzerland, not all the time but most of the time. Consult Germany AG agreed to the project without considering beforehand what this would entail. The first employees should already start within the next 2-3 weeks, whereby Drinks Switzerland AG has asked to submit the corresponding work permits by the first day of employment at the latest. During this time, the project contract will still be signed.

The project is to start on 1 September 2023 and 6 people are to be on site continuously from 1 September to 15 October 2023. During this period, it will then be determined what the subsequent assignments will look like.

Question

What type of permit must be obtained for the 6 people?

Possible solutions

If the employees of Consult Deutschland AG do not need to be permanently on site, there are several authorization options:

  • Notification procedure up to max. 90 days in a calendar year (without taking up residence in Switzerland)
  • 120-day permit up to a maximum of 120 days either in a calendar year or 12 months or for 4 months at a stretch (without taking up residence in Switzerland)
  • Short-stay permit for more than 4 months (with residence in Switzerland) Since the employees are employed in Germany, they need a work permit to work for Drinks Switzerland AG.

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