Overview of the tax law decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published in the week of 21 - 27 August 2017.
- Judgment of 17 July 2017 (2C_314/2016, 2C_315/2016): Direct Federal Tax and Cantonal Tax 2002-2009 (Berne); Application for tax exemption of the Swiss Equestrian Sports Federation because of the pursuit of public purposes; confirmation of the case law according to which legal persons who primarily pursue gainful employment or self-help purposes are in principle not entitled to tax exemption pursuant to Art. 56 lit. g DBG, even if they simultaneously serve public purposes (so already judgement of the Federal Court 2C_383/2010 of 28 December 2010, E. 2); distinction from the activities of international sports associations; dismissal of the appeal.
- Judgment of 17 July 2017 (2C_69/2017): Cantonal and communal taxes 2012 (Aargau); according to the capital contribution principle, not only the paid-in share capital but also any capital contribution demonstrably made by shareholders is tax-free repayable; in contrast, the distribution of retained earnings generated by the company itself shall continue to be subject to income tax; Art. 20 para. 3 DBG is not limited to domestic companies, but also includes the repayment of capital contributions by foreign companies (in this case an AG resident in Germany); in this context, the taxable person invoking the capital contribution principle must prove the existence of corresponding capital contribution reserves (tax-exempt fact); contrary to the complainant's view, the "tax deposit account" under the German Corporation Tax Act (KStG), which is relevant in the present case, is not to be treated in the same way as the "reserves from capital contributions" account, which must be shown separately in the commercial balance sheet, since the German deposit account has a different purpose from the "reserves from capital contributions" account under Swiss law (E. 5.1 with further references); the dividend in question is therefore not to be qualified as a tax-free repayment of a capital contribution but as a taxable dividend; dismissal of the appeal.
- Judgment of 28 July 2017 (2C_664/2017): Direct federal tax and cantonal and communal taxes 2013 and 2014 (Thurgau); orders imposing fines 2013 and 2014; failure to intervene in the simplified procedure due to obvious lack of sufficient grounds and obvious inadmissibility of the appeal.
- Judgment of 14 August 2017 (2C_674/2017): Direct Federal Tax and State and Municipal Taxes 2002 (Berne); supplementary taxes; rejection of the President of the Tax Appeal Commission; the President's prior referral in connection with the taxation of the sole shareholder does not directly affect the assessment of the corresponding stock corporation; rejection of the appeal.
- Judgment of 11 July 2017 (2C_871/2016, 2C_872/2016): Direct federal tax and cantonal and communal taxes 2005 (Berne); inadmissibility of the deduction of costs incurred by a taxpayer for the restoration of a newly acquired property neglected by the previous owner shortly after its acquisition (Dumont practice); the Dumont practice, which was abolished at the end of 2009, is still applicable for the 2005 tax year in question; Non-consideration of a maintenance cost contribution in the following year (2005) which was not deductible in the previous year (2004) due to a negative income and which, despite Dumont practice, was recognised for tax purposes in the following year (2005); corresponding reduction of taxable income to this extent; the complaint is partially upheld.
- Judgment of 10 August 2017 (2C_567/2016, 2C_568/2016): Direct federal tax and cantonal and communal taxes 2008 (Geneva); maintenance contribution of spouses living separately with two joint children; determination and tax deductibility of maintenance contributions as a result of the dissolution of the joint household; the Federal Supreme Court upholds the appeal and refers the case back to the lower court for reassessment and reassessment of the procedural costs.
- Judgment of 25 July 2017 (2C_966/2016): Direct Federal Tax 2010 (Zurich); self-employment within the scope of commercial real estate trading; offsetting of income from commercial real estate trading; reinvestment of a profit made from commercial real estate trading in the conversion of another property is to be seen as a strong indication that the complainants wanted to continue to be active in the real estate sector and thus as an indication of self-employment; profit orientation affirmed; dismissal of the complaint.
- Judgment of 27 July 2017 (2C_661/2017): Direct federal tax and cantonal and communal taxes 2011 (Thurgau); manifest lack of sufficient statement of reasons; failure to apply the simplified procedure
- Judgment of 31 July 2017 (2C_99/2017, 2C_100/2017): Direct federal tax and cantonal and municipal taxes 2013 (Zurich); deduction of travel and further training costs; it was questionable whether the complainant had actually incurred the claimed costs for the use of the car or public transport for the journey to the place of training; the complainant was unable to provide evidence of the additional costs incurred; the taxpayer cannot derive anything in his favour from a corresponding assessment in previous years either, since the taxpayer had rejected an assessment proposal for the tax year in question (analogous to previous years) and the tax office was therefore allowed to return to its assessment and reduce the deduction without further ado; rejection of the complaint.
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
