Overview of the tax rulings of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published between July 14 - 20, 2025:
- Judgment of June 20, 2025 (9C_125/2025): Customs duties and VAT on imports 2018 - 2019; D. was employed by E. GmbH and imported several hundred kilograms of meat products into Switzerland without declaring them. In dispute is the subsequent collection of customs duties and VAT on imports within the meaning of Art. 70 para. 2 ZG and Art. 51 para. 1 MWSTG. According to case law, a person who brings goods into the customs territory is any person who instructs a third party to bring goods across the border. A. GmbH argues that E. GmbH cannot be regarded as the importer of the goods in dispute, but that D. acted on his own account, making him the importer of the goods. Pay slips and two employment contracts of E. GmbH in the name of D. were uncovered, which confirms the view that D. was an auxiliary employee of E. GmbH. E. GmbH is the contractual partner of A. GmbH. The lower court was therefore entitled to assume that E. GmbH was the importer of the disputed goods. Dismissal of the appeal by A. GmbH.
- Judgment of June 20, 2025 (9F_8/2025): VAT 2011-2014; request for revision regarding judgment BGer 2C_647/2021 of November 1, 2021 (see our article of November 21, 2021); in the proceedings regarding the judgment of November 1, 2021, the applicant, a general contractor, was unable to prove the connection between payments made and the construction of a building. With the request for revision, the applicant submitted two emails with attachments documenting the connection in question. However, the Federal Supreme Court concluded that this evidence could and should have been obtained and submitted with due diligence in the ordinary proceedings. Dismissal of the appeal.
- Judgment of June 17, 2025 (9C_339/2024): Direct federal tax and state and municipal taxes 2009-2015 and 2018 (Zurich); The issue in dispute and to be examined was whether the interest income from Italian postal savings certificates was accrued exclusively in the tax period in which the payment from the postal savings certificates was made or whether it was accrued periodically over several tax periods. As no interest had been (periodically) paid out or credited until the redemption or termination of the postal savings certificates and, for reasons explained in more detail in the ruling, it could not be assumed that the interest was nevertheless deemed to have accrued periodically, according to the Federal Supreme Court, the postal savings certificates are most likely to be classified as bonds with purely one-off interest under Swiss law. The consideration for the transfer of the capital consists exclusively of an interest payment, which is made upon redemption or termination. The interest income was therefore only due at the time of termination and was realized in the relevant tax period. Partial approval (due to the statute of limitations for the 2009 tax period) of the appeal by the Zurich cantonal tax office.
- Judgment of June 24, 2025 (9C_109/2024): Real estate gains tax 2021 (Geneva); At issue is the taxation of the real estate gains of spouses A. and B. following the sale of the replacement property in August 2021. The calculation of the gain is disputed, in particular the determination of the acquisition price and the consideration or non-consideration of the acquisition costs of the replacement property. According to case law, the total profit is taxed when the chain of reuse is interrupted, whereby the applicable modalities are decisive. Consequently, at the time of the interruption of the replacement chain, when the spouses sold the replacement property, the total profit was taxable, which is to be determined according to the taxation modalities of the Canton of Geneva. The spouses complained that the costs for the purchase of the apartment were not taken into account. The Federal Supreme Court ruled that the lower court's refusal to examine this issue was unlawful. The taxpayers' appeal was upheld and the case was referred back to the lower court for a new assessment.
- Judgment of July 04, 2025 (9C_284/2025): Direct federal tax and cantonal and communal taxes 2016 - 2021 (Ticino); background is an investigation pursuant to Art. 190 et seq. DBG. In dispute are the security claims pursuant to Art. 169 para. 1 DBG, which the tax office of the Canton of Ticino is asserting against A. A. contests the result of the lower court in various respects, but very generally and primarily with regard to the facts. Dismissal of the appeal by taxpayer A.
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
