Overview of tax law decisions of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published between August 21 - 27, 2023:

  • Judgment of 18 July 2023 (9C_618/2022): Administrative fees (train); This appeal against the fee of CHF 20 for the examination of the form application for trailer coupling and amendment of the vehicle registration document is dismissed insofar as it is upheld.
  • Judgment of July 18, 2023 (9C_625/2022): Administrative fees 2019-2020 (Aargau); In the present case, there is no sufficient legal basis for charging a fee for the deletion of the "Code 178" from the vehicle registration document. Namely, the circle of those liable to pay the fee is not sufficiently limited. Further complaints of the complainant in connection with the new issuance of a collective vehicle registration document prove to be unfounded. Partial approval of the complaint of the taxpayers.
  • Judgment of August 2, 2023 (9C_249/2023): State and municipal taxes (Zurich) and direct federal tax 2019; In the present ruling, the Federal Supreme Court confirms its long-standing practice according to which, in order for spouses to be taxed separately, they must cumulatively (i) have separate residences, (ii) the marital community must have ceased, and (iii) there must no longer be any community of means. In the case at hand, the different residences (Zurich and Germany) as well as the lack of community of means were not sufficient for separate taxation, as the marriage of the taxpayers was still intact. The rate-determining consideration of the spouse's means also does not violate the requirement of taxation according to economic capacity, since any disadvantage arising would be offset by advantages in other legal areas (e.g. in inheritance tax law) and was intended by the legislator. The taxpayer's further explanations according to which, due to the marriage contract under German law, all effects of her marriage are to be assessed under German law, come to nothing. The concept of a legally and factually inseparable marriage as a concept under tax law is to be interpreted autonomously. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal
  • Judgment of August 2, 2023 (9C_9/2023): Real estate gains tax of the Canton of Basel-Landschaft: The complainant is not able to show that the statistical method used by the lower court to determine the market value twenty years ago would have been applied arbitrarily or would lead to an objectionable result. Rather, the lower instance clearly and consistently justifies the methodology used and shows the practice developed in the Canton of Basel-Landschaft and also applied to the present case. In the present case, the price per square meter of Fr. 606 protected by the lower court lies within the range of the determined data set of Fr. 430 and Fr. 750 per square meter and is thus comprehensible and justifiable. Accordingly, an additional case-by-case consideration in exceptional cases, in particular for the consideration of the "absolute top location", is also not further indicated, especially since one cannot speak of arbitrariness. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
  • Judgment of August 3, 2023 (9C_261/2023): State and municipal taxes (Schwyz) and direct federal tax 2016; The tax administration qualified an intended acquisition in kind of the shares in G-AG totaling Fr. 5,050,000.00 (fair market value Fr. 112,000.00) as a non-valeur and any write-downs on this shareholding would have to be offset privately at both A-AG and D. The tax administration did not consider this to be a non-valeur. The signed ruling had no effect on the calculation of the fair market value, since payments to an inactive company were taken into account for the valuation and a reservation was communicated in writing. The lower court came to the conclusion that the participation in G-AG already had a market value of only CHF 112,000 at the time of its contribution and that it was otherwise a non-value on which no value adjustment could be recognized in profit or loss. It determined the market value by means of the net asset value method, which is provided for in the circular no. 28 of the SSK for newly founded companies. The DCF method put forward by the complainant was rejected by the lower court. Against the background of the practice-oriented restraint of the Federal Supreme Court, it is not objectionable that the lower instance valued the participation in G-AG according to the net asset value method, dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.

Non-occurrence:

Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.

Tax topics covered in this post:
Other Taxes
Income Tax
Wealth Tax
Profit Tax
Property Gains Tax