Overview of tax law decisions by the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published between May 11 and 17, 2026:
- Judgment of April 9, 2026 (9C_315/2025): Federal Direct Tax and State and Municipal Taxes for 2017 (Vaud); The issues in dispute were the rent deduction for a home office and the tax treatment of a stake in a limited liability company (GmbH). The married couple A.A. and B.A., who lived together in a 3.5-room apartment, were both partially self-employed and worked from home. B.A. also owned a limited liability company (GmbH) that had a close business relationship with his sole proprietorship. The Federal Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s denial of the rent deduction for A.A., reasoning that a work corner did not meet the requirement of a clearly demarcated business space, and confirmed the calculation of the rent deduction for the room used by B.A.—based on office space rather than the method requested by the appellants (per room). The calculation method is not prescribed by law and therefore remains, in principle, a matter of discretion for the cantonal administration. It further confirmed the tax classification of the GmbH shares as part of B.A.’s business assets. The decisive factors were the similarity of the business sectors, the close economic ties, and the fact that the GmbH had been recorded in the sole proprietorship’s accounting records during the 2006–2012 tax periods. Dismissal of the taxpayers’ appeal.
- Judgment of April 22, 2026 (9C_541/2025): Popular rights (Vaud); conditional entry-into-force clause for the tax cap; The Vaud Grand Council linked the tax cap reform to a clause stipulating that it would only take effect if the popular initiative “Baisse d’impôts pour tous” (12% tax cut) is rejected. Three voters challenged this linkage as a violation of the freedom to vote, since they would have to forego the tax cap reform if the initiative were accepted. The Federal Supreme Court dismisses the appeal: The indirect counterproposal—a package of measures with phased tax cuts of up to 7% by 2027—constitutes, as a whole, a genuine alternative to the initiative; the conditional entry-into-force clause is based on objective grounds and is permissible. Dismissal of the appeal.
Non-occurrence:
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
