CONVINUS Global Mobility Alert - Week 17.2024

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BY NORMA REYNOV, CONVINUS Chapter 5 - Monthly Special - Detailed practical case for business trips from the USA to Switzerland - social security, taxes, work permits In chapters 1-4 of our series “Business trips to Switzerland and the EU”, we provided an overview of the most important aspects of international social security, taxes, work permits and reporting obligations. In the following 5th chapter, we will have a closer look at the administrative particularities of a business trip from the USA to Switzerland, using a practical example. Here, too, we focus on the key points of “taxes, social security and work permits”, which must be checked (at least briefly) for almost every international business trip. Example The Swiss headquarters has a subsidiary in the USA. The CFO for the group of companies lives and works mainly in the USA. He has an employment contract with the US company. Due to his overall responsibility for the group of companies, the CFO regularly comes to Switzerland for meetings and to carry out part of his work there. The CFO's presence in Switzerland varies between 0 and 8 days per month. The rest of the time, the employee can either work from his home office in the US or from the office in Boston, MA (USA). Question What needs to be considered when the CFO travels to Switzerland on business regarding social security, taxes and work permits? Social security coverage (Certificate of Coverage) Due to their place of residence and work in the USA, employees are generally subject to US social security contributions. To avoid triggering a social security obligation in Switzerland for the Swiss working days, it is advisable to obtain the so-called "Certificate of Coverage (CoC)" in the USA. The CoC is the equivalent of the A1, which is used for business trips in the EU/EFTA. It certifies that the employee continues to be insured under the US social security system during the business trip to Switzerland and is exempt from Swiss social security contributions. 11 convinus.com