Facts
This judgment of the Swiss Federal Court addressed the question of whether value-added tax should be considered in addition to the party compensation or if it is already included in the lump-sum amount. The appellant had legal representation, for which compensation for the proceedings was awarded.
The Federal Court decided that if a detailed cost note with separately stated value-added tax is submitted, the party compensation must be increased by the amount of the value-added tax. This is because the value-added tax increases the lawyer's expenses and leads to a reduction in his income if it cannot be passed on. Failure to take the value-added tax into account would therefore be an arbitrary reduction of the compensation.
The situation is different if a total amount of compensation is awarded. In this case, the value-added tax is included in the lump-sum amount and does not need to be compensated additionally.
Considerations
The Federal Court stated that according to Art. 134 OG, no court costs are to be levied in proceedings for the granting or refusal of insurance benefits. However, the appellant could be granted free legal representation, as her need was evident from the file, the appeal was not considered hopeless, and representation was…