Facts
L. AG received a demand from the Compensation Fund of the Wholesale Trade for the payment of joint social security contributions amounting to a total of CHF 38,365.30 for the years 1971-1974. The reason for this was payments to the shareholder and employee R. in the form of so-called "bonuses" or "additional gratuities" which the company had not accounted for as contributory wages.
L. AG filed a complaint against the fund's decision and requested that these payments be exempted from the contribution obligation. The cantonal appeal commission dismissed the complaint, as it was irrelevant under AHV law whether they were bonuses or additional gratuities, as both benefits constituted earned income within the meaning of the Ordinance on Old-Age and Survivors' Insurance (AHVV).
With the administrative court appeal to the Federal Insurance Court, L. AG requested that the cantonal decision and the fund's decision be annulled or that the reimbursement of the contributions paid be granted.
Considerations
The Federal Insurance Court states that the qualification of the disputed payments as contributory wages or as non-contributory capital income depends on their nature and function, not on the legal or economic designation. Grants from the net profit of a legal entity can under certain circumstances be considered as relevant wages, especially when they are bonuses.
However, the Compensation Fund and the lower instance incorrectly assumed that the…