Hey,

I am right now in Eastern Europe working for a swiss company through a temp bureau in Basel. Because I work abroad I get money for food (spesen). This money is supposed to be tax free, but my employer takes tax from it.

I have a friend in Basel who is an accountant and he has been in touch with my employer (the temp bureau) and pointed out the mistake. He has also been in touch with the tax office in Basel and has gotten in writing an e-mail that clearly states that my spesen is tax free. I have forwarded this email to my employer and still they take tax from my spesen. We are talking about 800-900 chf per month so this is something I can not accept.

Where do I turn to get this handled?

If I contact a lawyer, will my employer be forced to pay the lawyer bill one I "win" my money back? This is a "clear cut case" so there is no question about if I should have the money or not. It's just that the employer doesn't care about the applicable rules. Insanity!!!

Advice please.

/fjollon

Hi and Welcome to the Forum.

Well you could fight your enployer legally and piss him off, or you could claim the tax back at the end of the tax year through your return, or put in an expense claim for the extra tax deducted...

Thanks for fast reply!

I guess I should have pointed out that I am rather new in Switzerland and I have an Ausländerausweis B. Per what I have heard, I will not get any chance of getting any money back through any return. I do not declare my income.

How/where do I put in an expense claim for the extra tax deducted? I guess at the tax office.

You have to fill in a tax return which you are can do by choice.

Thanks, I will get in contact with the tax office then and see what I can do that way.