In this webinar, the speakers will analyze the following recent rulings by the Federal Supreme Court and the Zurich Administrative Court:
- Animus donandi in the sale of shares, 9C_118/2025, April 22, 2026
- Tax exemption: pursuit of a public purpose? 9C_205/2025, March 26, 2026
- Tax exemption: Does political activity undermine charitable status? 9C_316/2025, April 23, 2026
- Third-party childcare costs, 9C_156/2025, January 29, 2026
- BVG – “reverse blocking period,” VerGer ZH, December 17, 2025, SB.2025.47
- Debt push-down, Federal Supreme Court 9C_606/2025, February 24, 2026
- Commercial real estate trading? 9C_126/2024, February 9, 2026
- Permanent establishment abroad (FL) / Piercing the corporate veil, 9C_647/2024, January 27, 2026
- Simulated Loan, Federal Supreme Court 9C_216/2025, April 10, 2026
Secure your access to this 90-minute webinar (including all slides).
Share purchase agreement dated August 1, 2017: Son 1 sells shares (20%) to his father at a nominal value of CHF 20,000. The Vaud cantonal tax administration estimates the market value of the shares (20%) at CHF 6.8 million.
- Mixed gift
- It retroactively demanded gift taxes (approximately CHF 1 million) from the father (purchaser) and imposed a fine on him for tax evasion
The dispute concerns the tax classification of the agreement concluded between the shareholders of the family holding company in 2008 and the transfer of 20% of the shares in this company at par value in 2017.
S. AG was founded in 1972. It is headquartered in the canton of VS. It has a permanent establishment in the canton of VD. The shareholder base consists of municipalities in VD and VS. One board member is appointed by the cantonal governments of VD and VS, and the rest are municipal representatives
The purpose is as follows:
- “Sorting, recycling, treatment, and the energy and material recovery of waste, sewage sludge from wastewater treatment plants, and methanizable waste such as green waste and food waste. The tasks of public interest incumbent upon the company, among other things, are closely linked to the tasks that the municipalities must fulfill in the area of waste disposal and recovery in accordance with federal legislation as well as the cantonal legislation of the cantons of Vaud and Valais. (…)
- Carrying out all activities related to the collection and thermal recovery of waste for energy (…)»
The articles of incorporation prohibit the distribution of dividends. In the event of liquidation, the proceeds go to jP, a public-benefit or non-profit organization that has been tax-exempt (VS) since 1973. S. AG operates a waste-to-energy plant in VS and a “Thermoréseau” (biogas plant) in VD.
2018: The VS Tax Office informs S. AG that it is considering revoking the tax exemption.
2020: Tax assessments for 2015–2018, appeal
The Cantonal Court of VS upholds the tax authority’s position:
- It is undisputed that waste incineration serves a public purpose.
- However, this does not apply to the company’s other activities, namely the production and sale of energy via the district heating network (Thermoréseau) as well as the production and sale of electricity, biogas, compost, and wood chips derived from waste processing.
According to its bylaws, Association X aims to protect the quality of life, nature, the landscape, and the village character of a Geneva municipality and its surroundings (including by combating environmental pollution and promoting sustainable mobility).
After the association was temporarily exempt from direct taxes (federal, cantonal, municipal) for the years 2015 through 2021, the cantonal tax administration rejected the request to extend the tax exemption starting with the 2022 tax period.
The Geneva Cantonal Court upheld the revocation of the tax exemption:
- because the association’s activities served an overly narrow group of beneficiaries (only the residents of the specific municipality) and
- because the association primarily used political means (such as objections and statements).
A married couple from the Canton of Geneva has two school-age children (ages 4 and 6). Both parents work full-time. In their 2022 tax return, they claimed third-party childcare costs:
- Creative courses at a private language school on the school’s day off (Wednesday) from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (CHF 24.40 per hour)
- Themed summer camps—one-week supervised courses during school vacations from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (approx. CHF 600 per week)
The cantonal tax office limited the deduction for summer camps to a flat rate of CHF 250 per child per week, in line with standard practice. It argued that summer camps primarily serve recreational and educational purposes, not childcare.
The parents successfully challenged this decision before the Geneva Cantonal Court, whereupon the tax administration appealed the ruling to the Federal Supreme Court.
All facts and court decisions can be found in the slides and in the video.
