Overview of the tax rulings of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published between May 20 - 26, 2024:
- Judgmentof April 15, 2024 (9C_692/2023): State and communal taxes (Geneva) and direct federal tax 2008 and 2011-2016; An appeal is excluded if the evidence could have been presented with reasonable diligence in the ordinary proceedings. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgment of April 15, 2024 (9C_693/2023): State and municipal taxes (Geneva) and direct federal tax 2011-2016 (fine for tax evasion); Insofar as alleged procedural errors (lack of minutes at the hearing) are only raised before the Federal Supreme Court, this violates the principle of good faith. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgment of April 23, 2024 (9C_685/2023): State and municipal taxes (Bern) and direct federal tax 2018; In the context of harmonized federal, cantonal and municipal taxes, there is no reason to assume that "court vacations" exist or that otherwise the (non-)applicability of the time limit standstill would have to be expressly pointed out in the instructions on legal remedies. Rejection of the taxpayer's request to restore the deadline.
- Judgment of May 1, 2024 (9C_604/2022): State and municipal taxes (Solothurn) and direct federal tax 2020; The dispute is whether the benefit to be assessed, namely the acquisition of the shares of D. AG at a lower price by the complainants, is in connection with the work activity for the company and accordingly constitutes a pecuniary benefit from employee shares pursuant to Art. 17 para. 1 in conjunction with Art. 17a-d DBG. Art. 17a-d DBG. It is undisputed that the purpose of the share transfer was to correct the unusual situation originally created, as a result of which the entire share capital was held by A.B., who was the only person who never actively participated in the joint project of the two married couples. The fact that the transfer was considerably underpriced, at least with regard to the two complainants, also speaks in favor of an actual connection with the value-enhancing and profit-generating cooperation within the framework of the joint venture. Dismissal of the taxpayers' appeal.
- Judgment of May 1, 2024 (9C_726/2022): State and municipal taxes (St. Gallen) and direct federal tax 2013; The holding company of the appellant spouses acquired a 100% stake in an over-indebted company from them for CHF 0 in 2013. The tax office considered this to be an overpriced acquisition and charged the spouses a monetary benefit to the extent of the over-indebtedness. The Federal Supreme Court came to the conclusion that there was a pecuniary benefit, but in the amount of the spouses' debt to the company taken over by the holding company (asset loan). The reason for the set-off was that by simultaneously assuming the debts of the previous shareholders of the acquired company (spouses) to the acquired company (claim of the company against the shareholder, asset loan) and their subordinated claims against the acquired company (debts of the company against the shareholder, liability loan), the holding company ultimately released the spouses from their "contribution obligation" to the acquired company (hidden profit distribution of the holding company to the spouses). Partial approval of the appeal of the taxable spouses (regarding the amount of the set-off).
- Judgment of May 2, 2024 (9C_87/2024): State and municipal taxes (Schaffhausen) and direct federal tax 2015-2017; It is not objectionable that the lower court only assumed the interests of the taxpayers and not those of the entire group of companies when examining the business justification of donations. In addition, the revaluation reserve on real estate was rightly added to the taxable profit. The taxpayer fails to recognize that Art. 670 para. 1 aOR was not primarily intended to eliminate an underbalance due to excessive profit withdrawals, but due to operating losses. In this case, the loss can be offset against the revaluation gain for tax purposes. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
Non-occurrence:
Administrative Assistance:
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
