Overview of tax law decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published between August 15 - 21, 2022:
- Judgment of July 8, 2022 (2C_879/2021): Direct Federal Tax and State and Municipal Taxes 2019 (Zurich); The issue in dispute and to be examined was whether the first tranche paid out of a Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) scholarship awarded to the taxpaying couple is taxable. Despite the repayment obligation in the event of termination of the research project, the tranche of the grant paid out is deemed to have accrued and been realized under income tax law according to the Federal Supreme Court. Furthermore, the BGer held that the scholarship fell under the general clause of Art. 16 para. 1 DBG (§ 16 para. 1 StG ZH), did not constitute tax-exempt income under Art. 24 lit. a and d DBG (§ 24 lit. a and d StG ZH) in the specific case and was in principle taxable at the normal rate. Since the taxpayers moved their residence to the Netherlands at the end of February 2019, the question also arose as to the extent of the taxability of the stipend. The BGer concluded that the first tranche still paid out in Switzerland at the beginning of February 2019 accrued within the shortened tax period and was to be recognized in full. The Federal Supreme Court ruled out international double taxation on the basis of Art. 20 DTA CH-NL. The taxpayers could also not derive anything in their favor from a telephone call with the competent tax office (protection of legitimate expectations). Dismissal of the taxpayers' appeal.
Non-occurrence:
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
