Facts
A.X. and B.X. filed a complaint against the tax assessment decisions of the Tax Administration of the Canton of Bern for the 2001 tax year. B.X. suffered a skiing accident in 1998 and subsequently received a half disability pension from the Disability Insurance as well as compensation for household damage from the liability insurance. The Tax Administration treated the disability pension as taxable income, prompting A.X. and B.X. to file a complaint. The Federal Court dismissed the complaints.Considerations
The Federal Court states that benefits from the Disability Insurance are generally considered taxable income, as they are not intended to compensate for a specific asset loss, but rather to mitigate the consequences of disability within the framework of adequate subsistence. However, the compensation from the liability insurer for household damage is not subject to tax, insofar as it compensates for actual or future additional expenses. Equating the disability pension and the household compensation would not be justified, as…