Overview of the tax rulings of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published between November 18 - 24, 2024:
- Judgment of October 21, 2024 (9C_501/2023): Tourism promotion tax of the municipality of Anniviers 2009-2014 (Valais); before the Federal Supreme Court, it was disputed in material terms whether the lower courts had rightly confirmed that the petrol station located on the territory of the municipality of Anniviers was subject to the tourism promotion tax. This tax, which is levied instead of the accommodation tax, is aimed at the direct and indirect beneficiaries of local tourism. The petrol station operator lodging the appeal was unable to prove before the FSC that it was not a beneficiary of local tourism. Dismissal of the appeal by the taxpayer.
- Judgment of October 28, 2024 (9C_165/2024) - intended for publication: Direct federal tax and state and municipal taxes 2020 and 2021 (St. Gallen); the dispute was whether the association A. could remain exempt from tax liability for the 2020 and 2021 tax periods. The association operates a social, non-profit hostel and runs a hotel, the profits of which serve to cross-subsidize the hostel. The FSC examined whether the hotel operation meets the requirement of altruism and the principle of competitive neutrality. It found that the hotel's income accounted in part for around half of the association's total revenue and that the hotel operation was therefore not merely of secondary importance as a mere auxiliary operation. As the hotel is also in direct competition with taxable providers, a tax exemption would create an undue advantage. A violation of the protection of legitimate expectations was also denied, as a change was foreseeable with the initiation of the review procedure in 2020. Appeal by the cantonal tax office upheld.
- Judgment of October 31, 2024 (9C_510/2024): VAT (mixed use); tax periods 2014-2017; the allocation key determined and calculated by the FTA to determine the permissible input VAT deduction in the case of mixed use was protected by the lower court and an abuse of discretion and arbitrary calculation were denied. Before the Federal Supreme Court, the appellant was unable to justify a violation of the right to be heard or the prohibition of arbitrariness. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
- Judgment of October 24, 2024 (9C_232/2024): Military service tax 2015 - 2018; the cantonal court found that the appellant had been naturalized in 2014 at the age of 23 and did not dispute that he had acquired all the rights and obligations applicable to Swiss citizens from that date, in particular compulsory military service. He also did not dispute that he was neither assigned to an army formation nor liable for military service from 2015 to 2018, so that the requirements for subordination under Art. 2 para. 1 let. a WPEG were met. Furthermore, it was clear from the files that the complainant had not requested "subsequent" recruitment from the competent authorities. He only became active in the cantonal appeal proceedings. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
Failure to enter:
Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.
