The Canton Ticino is ready for the new tax reform on crypto.

While in Switzerland in the Canton of Ticino preparations are underway for a new, more advantageous tax reform, in Italy taxes on crypto continue to hinder the rise of this sector.

With the new Lugano law, the entire Swiss district reduces corporate profit taxes, easing the fiscal burden.

In the tricolor boot, the new budget law goes in the opposite direction, anticipating an increase in the tax on capital gains for crypto operations.

The usual Italian joke.

Canton Ticino ready to embrace a new form of taxes on crypto for 2025

In Canton Ticino, a region of the Swiss Confederation that extends to the south of the Central Alps, a tax reform is expected for the new year.

Approved on May 21, 2024, it will officially come into effect on January 1, 2025, and will introduce particularly advantageous conditions for companies and individuals.

Among the expected changes, what stands out the most is the reduction of the corporate profit tax, aligning with the proactive vision of the entire country.

The rate of the cantonal tax on corporate profits will indeed decrease from 8% to 5.5%, following the Ticino motto “Reduce costs, reinvest in your future“.

This means that, starting from a cantonal tax of 80,000 CHF in 2024, there will be a saving of 25,000 CHF in 2025 thanks to the new reform.

Furthermore, the maneuver also includes an increase in the deduction of the tax on profits from the capital tax, which will rise from 10% to 16%.

This will allow for a significant reduction in the tax burden, with an expected saving of approximately 3,000 CHF on a net tax of 5,000 CHF recorded in 2024.

To all this is added a new differentiation for municipal multipliers, such as to create  “hub fiscali” within the Canton of Ticino.

Starting from 2025, the Ticino municipalities will be able to save up to 10,000 CHF considering a previous municipal tax of 95,000 CHF.

The reform of the lower Switzerland also includes a plan for the coming years, with the maximum corporate tax rate reaching 12% by 2030.

There will also be an improvement regarding taxes on inheritances and donations, in order to facilitate business successions even to people not belonging to the family circle of the business owners.

The ultimate goal of this restructuring is to make Canton Ticino more competitive compared to the other Swiss cantons.

Taxes on crypto in Canton Ticino favor innovation

Regarding taxes on crypto, the new tax reform of Canton Ticino plans to keep exempt from taxation the capital gains from cryptocurrencies for individuals.

Currently in Lugano and in the south of the Alps, cryptocurrencies are considered private wealth assets and are subject only to the wealth tax.

This last varies between 0.3% and 1% of the total value of the assets, depending on the canton of reference. Such a favorable regime creates the ideal conditions for the growth of the crypto industry throughout Ticino,  already known as one of the main Bitcoin hubs.

Private investors, already grappling with the unpredictability of the crypto market, do not have to comply with heavy taxes that end up disincentivizing the investment itself.

The situation changes instead for self-employed traders and businesses, which regarding crypto activities are subject to taxation as ordinary income.

This means that, in the same way as any other income that the company or the self-employed trader earns, a predetermined tax regime applies.

In practice, if the company makes a profit by selling cryptocurrencies, that profit will be added to the company’s other earnings and taxed according to the normal income tax rates.

This is valid for all of Switzerland, where 3 types of taxes are considered, namely federal, cantonal, and municipal.

Generally, federal taxes are about 7.83% on profits, cantonal ones vary between 4.4% and 19%, and finally, municipal ones range from 4% to 16%. 

In total, the tax on crypto can therefore reach up to a maximum of 27.83%, but generally, they are most often much lower.

Furthermore, with the new reform aimed at reducing the same income taxes, even companies trading cryptocurrencies will have an additional tax relief.

In Italy, the 2025 budget maneuver is a joke: tax increase to 33% in 2026 for crypto capital gains

While in Canton Ticino the taxes on crypto favor innovation and the growth of private investors’ capital, in Italy we unfortunately cannot say the same.

With the new budget law that will come into effect in 2025, changes are expected that will increase the tax rate on capital gains rather than lower them.

In particular, in 2025 the tax on gains generated from crypto activities (both by individuals and companies) will remain at 26%, but the exemption threshold below 2,000 euros will be eliminated. This means that if until 2024 net profits exceeding 2,000 euros were not taxed, in 2025 they will be subject to a payment of 520 euros.

Furthermore, as if it were not already a defeat for the crypto sector in Italy, in 2026 the tax rate on capital gains will rise to 33%, further complicating the picture.

Some politicians celebrate the result because initially the Italian Deputy Minister of Finance Maurizio Leo had spoken of a 42% rate, adding the embarrassing motivation: “because the phenomenon (Bitcoin) is spreading.”

Setting aside the dialectical blunder of the deputy minister, it is evident how the “bear” at 33% is just a smokescreen aimed at deceiving the less attentive minds.

The taxes on crypto are not lowered to 33% but are rather raised to that figure, once again limiting the growth of a sector that has demonstrated incredible strength worldwide.

In short, as mentioned in the introduction, we are facing the umpteenth Italian joke, with the budget maneuver that discourages new investments and makes the technological fabric of the country even poorer and more unproductive.

While abroad Bitcoin and crypto are seen as a godsend, in Italy they are still considered an isolated phenomenon dedicated only to speculators.

Trying to be positive and looking at the other side of the coin, as suggested by professor Ferdinando Ametrano, we still have a year to work on this problem.

Therefore, another year to consider moving one’s businesses and capital to countries and areas that are more crypto-friendly in terms of taxes, such as Canton Ticino.