Overview of the tax rulings of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published between April 29 and May 5, 2024:
- Judgment of April 12, 2024 (9C_790/2023): Direct federal tax and state and municipal tax 2015 (Zurich); The issue in dispute in this case is whether the appellant taxpayer has effectively transferred half of his usufructuary right to a property owned by his daughter, who lives there, to his ex-wife. Although both his ex-wife and he made consistent declarations in their tax returns - she declared the full usufruct and he declared nothing - the usufruct was not transferred in a formally valid manner, which can only be assigned in accordance with the rules on assignment under Art. 164 et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations and thus in writing. There is no written assignment and the confirmation provided by his ex-wife and daughter cannot change this. Furthermore, the taxpayer objected to the procedural costs of the lower court and the service fees. The Federal Supreme Court agreed with the appellant with regard to the procedural costs, but not with regard to the service fees. Partial approval of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgment of April 4, 2024 (9C_719/2022): Cantonal and communal taxes (Vaud) and direct federal tax 2015 and 2016; business assets/private assets; the dispute is whether the taxpayer was able to carry out depreciation on its vehicle. The criteria used by case law for the allocation to PV or GV (Art. 18 para. 2 DBG) differ from those used to determine business-related costs (Art. 27 DBG). In the present case, there is no evidence that the vehicle had to be used to transport bulky medical supplies or for frequent journeys between the practice and patients. Consequently, the vehicle is not technically necessary for the operation of the medical practice. The disputed vehicle is therefore fully attributable to private assets and consequently no depreciation is permitted. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgment of April 10, 2024 (9C_718/2023): Cantonal and communal taxes (Ticino) and direct federal tax 2013-2019; The taxpayer's appeal (tax period 2013-2014) is dated November 30, 2022, i.e. several years after the start of the debt enforcement proceedings (2018) and more than three months after the enforcement orders were served (August 6, 2022), which is why the appeal deadline was not met even if the decisions had never been served (which can be left open. With regard to 2015-2019, the lower court found that the rulings of January 18, 2022 were served by A Mail plus and therefore the deadline for appeal was not met. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
Non-entry decisions:
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
