Overview of the tax rulings of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published between March 4 - 10, 2024:
- Judgment of February 13, 2024 (9C_70/2023): Cantonal and communal taxes 2015-2018 (Valais); inter-communal profit distribution; the cantonal tax administration is entitled to appeal if it concerns an intra-cantonal inter-communal tax differentiation, provided that this relates to concepts that are covered by harmonized law, such as, for example, the concept of a permanent establishment.In the present case, for example, the concept of a permanent establishment; the lower court correctly assumed that the sole proprietorship had a permanent establishment in the municipality of A. in the tax periods concerned (operation and extraction of a gravel pit); dismissal of the appeal by the cantonal tax administration.
- Judgment of February 14, 2024 (9C_616/2023, 9C_712/2023, 9C_713/2023): Request for interpretation and correction of a cantonal judgment (Vaud); the decision of the lower court was made without arbitrariness and contradictions. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgment of February 19, 2024 (9C_170/2023): State and municipal taxes 2018-2020 (Zurich); At issue is whether the residence of spouses A. and B. is in the canton of Zurich or in the canton of Aargau. The lower court found that the spouses initially rented a 2.5-room apartment in the canton of Zurich and registered as weekend residents. With the continuous increase in their de facto workload and thus probably also their physical presence as well as their moving into a 5-room apartment, the factual situation has changed significantly in favor of the Canton of Zurich. The usual social relationships are mainly, but not exclusively, maintained in the canton of Aargau. It is permissible to give greater weight to the presence at the place of work. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal against the Canton of Zurich. Appeal against the Canton of Aargau upheld in that the Canton of Aargau must refund the assessed taxes and any advance payments for the subsequent years concerned.
- Judgment of February 20, 2024 (9C_195/2023): Gift tax 2019 (Basel-Landschaft); the dispute concerns the question of whether B. passed on half of the gift amount received from his father to A. and thus whether there was an intent to make a gift when the amount was passed on. The amount enabled A. to acquire half of a co-ownership share in a property. A. and B. are a cohabiting couple. Because A. did not have to pay half of the transfer value for her half of the co-ownership share and due to other circumstances such as a long-standing cohabitation relationship, the lack of a written agreement according to which A. had to repay the share of the purchase price for her co-ownership share that she did not have to pay in the event of the dissolution of the cohabitation and the lack of a declaration of a corresponding debt relationship in the tax return, the lower court concluded that a gift had been made from B. to A.. Dismissal of the appeal by taxpayer A.
- Judgment of February 6, 2024 (9C_708/2023): Direct federal tax and state and municipal taxes 2021 (Basel-Stadt); late objection; the fact that the taxpayer was "very busy at work" in the summer of 2022 and suffered from health impairments does not mean that she was unable to appoint a (reliable) representative; dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
Non-entry decisions:
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
