Overview of the tax rulings of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published between October 7 - 13, 2024:
- Judgment of July 31, 2024 (9C_459/2023) - for publication: VAT (2018-2020); The taxpayer supported various companies in their search for (new) investors for new shares to be issued. It was disputed and had to be examined whether the brokerage of capital contributions is exempt from tax pursuant to Art. 21 para. 2 no. 19 let. e VAT Act, although the underlying transaction brokered does not fall under Art. 21 VAT Act as a non-remuneration. According to the BGer, the interpretation of Art. 21 para. 2 no. 19 let. e MWSTG shows that brokerage services in connection with the issue of shares fall under this provision and are therefore exempt from VAT. The taxpayer's appeal was upheld and referred back to the lower court for a new decision.
- Judgment of August 23, 2024 (9C_142/2024): State and municipal taxes and direct federal tax 2020 (Schaffhausen); The dispute is whether the taxpayer transferred his co-ownership share in the D. property to his private assets in connection with the cessation of his self-employment or whether it remained in his business assets until the sale of the property. It is striking, as the lower court correctly found, that only a short period of time elapsed between the derecognition of the co-ownership share as at December 31, 2020 in the last annual financial statements of the sole proprietorship and the signing of the sales order to a brokerage firm for the D. property. The fact that the taxpayer is a real estate expert also plays a role. With regard to the subjective element of the intention to transfer the property to private assets, considerable doubts remain. Dismissal of the appeal by taxpayer A.
- Judgment of September 12, 2024 (9C_565/2023): Cantonal and communal taxes Canton of Vaud, direct federal tax, tax period 2013 to 2019 (monetary benefit); If a loan is granted to the shareholder that does not correspond to market conditions and cannot be expected to be repaid, this constitutes a taxable monetary benefit to the shareholder (simulated loan). Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgment of September 12, 2024 (9C_566/2023): State and communal taxes canton of Vaud, direct federal tax; tax period 2013 and 2014 (monetary benefit); If there is a simulated loan between the company and its shareholder (or related party), this is taxable as a monetary benefit (investment income) by the borrower. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgment of September 12, 2024 (9C_567/2023): State and communal taxes canton of Vaud, direct federal tax; tax period 2013 to 2015 (monetary benefit); For the purposes of state and communal taxes as well as direct federal tax, the triangular theory is applied (in contrast to withholding tax). This means that the monetary benefit is allocated to the holder of the participation rights and, in a second step, to the related party. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgment of September 19, 2024 (9C_4/2024): State and municipal taxes and direct federal tax 2014 (Zurich); The dispute in this case is whether the value adjustment on a participation was justified on business grounds. For this purpose, the market value of the participation at the end of the previous year must be determined as a preliminary question. Federal law does not prescribe to the cantons the rules according to which the market value is to be determined. The Federal Supreme Court's power of review is therefore limited to the question of whether the lower court violated federal constitutional law. In the present case, the taxpayer is unable to show to what extent the lower court's valuation is arbitrary, which is why the tax authorities were right to offset the value adjustment. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgment of September 23, 2024 (9C_47/2024, 9C_48/2024): State and municipal taxes as well as direct federal tax 2017 (Basel); It was disputed whether the maintenance payments to his ex-wife and the interest on debts were to be deducted proportionately in the international tax separation of the complainant, taking into account the tax factors of his new wife, who has unlimited tax liability abroad, or only his own tax factors. In deviation from the ruling 2C_354/2022 of March 20, 2023 (see our article of April 16, 2023), the Federal Supreme Court came to the conclusion that the tax factors of his wife resident abroad should not be taken into account in the international separation of the complainant resident in Switzerland. Insofar as the appellant was denied the deduction of maintenance payments and debt interest on the basis of the tax factors of his wife residing abroad, there was a violation of federal law. Partial approval of the taxpayer's appeal.
Non-occurrence:
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
