Ticino government writes to Bern again, federal delegation unconvinced

The Ticino government sent a new letter to Bern after Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking about ten days ago at the Endorfine festival in Lugano, urged Ticino to reconsider its spending and said he was disappointed by the blocked tax rebates to Italy for cross-border workers.

The letter, dated 16 September and signed by government president Marina Carobbio Guscetti, strikes a constructive tone and proposes a clarifying meeting with Parmelin. The canton feels misunderstood and wants to explain its specific circumstances, asking in particular that the presence of cross-border workers be better accounted for in the calculation of the intercantonal fiscal equalisation scheme. An ordinary revision of the calculation method will only take effect in a few years. In 2027 Ticino will receive 112 million francs, a growing amount but a modest one compared with the 1.7 billion francs distributed overall by Bern.

This kind of letter has been used by the canton before to press its case, but it fails to convince the whole of Ticino's delegation in the federal parliament. Its president, socialist Bruno Storni, told Swiss broadcaster RSI that "letters are no longer useful" at this level and that they have had no effect so far.

Storni: dialogue rather than banging fists

On the substance, Storni said the cantonal government has already presented its position to Karin Keller-Sutter, who is responsible for fiscal equalisation, and the answer is known: current law leaves no room to manoeuvre, not even for the president of the Confederation. Asked whether raising the tone serves any purpose, Storni said one can certainly speak up, but that the way forward now is dialogue. He recalled that Ticino accepted the current criteria until a few years ago, and that the situation has already improved: from a canton that used to pay in, it now receives around a hundred million francs, even if other cantons receive larger amounts.

Storni admits that relations between the delegation and the cantonal government are not entirely smooth. He stressed, however, that the delegation cannot impose anything on the cantonal government, which manages its relations with the Federal Council independently, while adding that it would be more useful to be consulted before such letters are sent. Beyond party lines, he said, there is a broad consensus among Ticino's parliamentarians in Bern that relations have not been handled in the most appropriate way.