Overview of the tax law decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published between 14 - 20 March 2022:
- Judgment of 17 February 2022 (2C_431/2021; 2C_432/2021): Direct federal tax and state tax 2014 (Basel-Landschaft); in dispute is whether the complainant pursued a tax-relevant self-employed activity in the form of property trading. Since the sale of a property in April 2013, no more property transactions have been carried out. In addition, there have been no profits in the majority of the years since 2009. This indicates a lack of planning and a lack of determination to make a profit. Furthermore, the complainant only pursued one purchase opportunity. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgement of 24 February 2022 (2C_82/2022): Direct federal tax, cantonal and communal tax 2019 (Vaud); The taxpayer had been dismissed from a cantonal employment contract with immediate effect in 2017; since then he had received unemployment benefits. It was disputed whether the legal costs for the various proceedings conducted in the wake of his dismissal were deductible as profit costs. According to the Federal Supreme Court, the lower court was right to deny this. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Ruling of 25 February 2022 (2C_492/2020): VAT 2011-2014; The question in dispute was the extent to which the taxpayer provided taxable services to its customers and how the VAT on these services is to be assessed, specifically in connection with purchase and delivery transactions with industrial and precious metal waste and with pure precious metal, as well as in connection with sales of precious metal to customers (pure delivery transactions), where the customer initially merely wants a credit on his metal account (e.g. because he buys the precious metal as a hedge) and only orders semi-finished products from the precious metal at a later date.e.g. because he buys the precious metal as a hedge) and only orders semi-finished products from the precious metal at a later date. The lower court correctly assumed that the taxpayer did not acquire economic power of disposal over the precious metal waste deposited when depositing precious metal waste and pure precious metal. Accordingly, the taxpayer was not in a position to subsequently provide its customers with economic power of disposal over the precious metal. Its service was limited to the delivery of an object on which work had been carried out. Beyond the remuneration for the work, there is not only no performance by the taxpayer, but also no remuneration by the customers. The lower court's refusal to levy VAT - again - on the value of the materials when the semi-finished product was delivered, in the case of pure delivery transactions with subsequent production and delivery, is also unobjectionable. Tax evasion on the part of the taxpayer is therefore not evident. Dismissal of the appeal of the FTA with the exception of a comparatively small amount, the offsetting of which had been annulled by the Federal Administrative Court without a corresponding challenge on the part of the taxpayer.
- Judgment of 3 March 2022 (2C_434/2021): Direct federal tax 2014, 2015 and 2017 as well as cantonal and communal taxes 2014-2017 (Geneva); the deductibility of interest on arrears, interest on payments on account and negative compensatory interest was at issue; in the present case, the interest run only began after the tax periods in question. The deductibility was therefore rightly denied; dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
Non-admission / revision requests:
- Judgment of 16 February 2022 (2F_7/2022): Securing direct federal tax and state and municipal taxes (Zurich) 2011-2012 as well as 2016-2019; the taxpayer did not file tax returns in the tax periods 2011-2018 and was assessed according to dutiful discretion. The taxpayer did not comply with the payment obligation. This resulted in considerable tax arrears. As a result, the Zurich Cantonal Tax Office issued freezing orders. The taxpayer defended herself against this until the Federal Supreme Court (BGer 2C_815/2021, see our article). In the present case, the taxpayer essentially demanded a revision of the Federal Supreme Court's ruling at that time due to subsequently significant facts. Rejection of the taxpayer's request for revision.
- Judgment of 23 February 2022 (2C_169/2022): Direct Federal Tax and Cantonal Tax 2018 (Ticino); Dismissal.
- Judgment of 3 March 2022 (2F_2/2022): Direct federal tax, cantonal and communal taxes 2013 (Fribourg); dismissal of the appeal.
- Judgment of 28 February 2022 (2C_188/2022): Staats- und Gemeindesteuern 2020 (Thurgau); Nichteintreten.
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
