Overview of the tax rulings of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court published between December 11 - 17, 2023:

  • Judgment of November 15, 2023 (9C_190/2023): State and municipal taxes and direct federal tax 2016 (Bern); The dispute is whether the taxpayer is entitled to the child deduction and the associated deductions for the contributions made to her adult daughter as part of her education in 2016. She is also claiming taxation at the parents' rate for direct federal tax purposes. A.'s daughter, who was already of age in 2016, completed a course of study in the USA in 2015-2019, which was partly financed by her mother. Case law has taken the view that the parents must make contributions at least in the amount of the social deduction and that the adult child is dependent on the maintenance contribution. The latter is not the case if the adult child is able to support himself/herself from his/her work or other means despite his/her education. Consequently, the child's income and financial circumstances must also be taken into account for the admissibility of the child deduction. As the daughter did not earn any taxable income in this year, but had taxable assets of around CHF 237,000, it was reasonable for her to bear the costs of education and living expenses herself despite her education. Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.
  • Judgment of November 22, 2023 (9C_630/2023): Direct federal tax and state and municipal taxes 2018-2019 (St. Gallen); deduction for real estate expenses, deduction for profit costs; denial of deduction for heating contracting costs because the appellant spouses (taxpayers) are not (co-)owners of the heating system. Appeal against denial of deductions for legal costs not upheld due to lack of justification (Art. 42 para. 2 BGG). The premiums for non-compulsory accident insurance are not deductible in full, but only together with other insurance premiums up to a lump sum (Art. 33 para. 1 lit. g DBG). Dismissal of the taxpayer's appeal.

Decisions on non-admission and write-offs:

Decisions are listed chronologically by publication date.

Tax topics covered in this post:
Income Tax