Overview of tax law decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published between August 7 - 13, 2023:
- Judgment of July 19, 2023 (9C_715/2022): Cantonal and communal taxes and direct federal tax, tax periods 2010 and 2011 (Geneva); The dispute concerns the back taxes fines for tax evasion in the tax periods 2010 and 2011. In particular, the question is whether a back tax is justified in principle and, if so, whether the cantonal lower court was correct in confirming that the assets held via a Singaporean trust structure as well as their income are attributable to the taxpayers in Switzerland. The Federal Supreme Court concludes that it must be assumed that the taxpayers continued to hold economic control over the trust structure established in Singapore and would have continued to control it. Thus, the cantonal judges would have been correct in finding that, based on the transparent assessment, the assets and the resulting income from the established structure should be allocated to the complainants in Switzerland for tax purposes. Dismissal of the taxpayers' appeal.
- Judgment of July 25, 2023 (9C_223/2023): Cantonal and communal taxes 2010 (Vaud); The deductibility of childcare costs is in dispute. Art. 9 para. 2 lit. m StHG regulates the requirements for deductibility. The deductible amount is to be determined by the cantons. The taxpayer objects that the childcare costs are not deductible as a lump sum, but that a maximum amount per child is provided for. In her view, this violates the principle of equal treatment and the principle of economic capacity. This view cannot be followed. In addition, it should be noted that the taxpayer has not complied with the requirements to state reasons. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgment of July 17, 2023 (9C_677/2022): Military service levy 2019 and 2020; the complainant has been a Swiss citizen since 2018 and has been working at UNRWA in Amman, Jordan, since 2019. By order dated October 18, 2019, the Swiss Armed Forces granted him leave to work abroad. In dispute was whether the complainant was subject to the military service tax. This was answered in the negative by the Federal Supreme Court, since the complainant is considered a servant of the UN pursuant to Section 18 lit. c of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. Appeal upheld.
- Judgment of 26 July 2023 (9C_10/2023): State and municipal taxes St. Gallen 2014; intercantonal double taxation (Zug; St. Gallen); A AG, domiciled in Zug, granted an interest-free loan to D AG in 2010 for the acquisition of a property in St. Gallen and, in return, received the entire loan amount as well as a share of the sale proceeds at the time of sale in 2014. The Federal Supreme Court now had to examine whether A AG thus established a limited tax liability in the Canton of St. Gallen - as a result of its membership in the simple partnership with D AG, but without direct rights in rem to the property. This question, which is disputed in the literature, was answered in the affirmative because A AG had a similar economic position (in particular through its share in the proceeds of the sale) via the partnership agreements as if it had had independent rights in rem to the real estate. Accordingly, the appeal against the assessment in the Canton of St. Gallen was dismissed, but the assessment of the Canton of Zug, which concerned the entire net profit of A AG, was annulled and referred back to the Canton of Zug for a new assessment taking into account the intercantonal double taxation. Partial approval of the taxpayer's appeal.
Non-occurrence:
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
