Facts
The case concerns a dispute between the sole heir X. and the co-heir Y. regarding the recourse for the estate and inheritance tax owed by the deceased S. S. left a net estate of CHF 758,400.-. Due to a beneficiary clause, a death benefit of CHF 112,837.- went to sister T., whose sole heir is Y. The tax administration of the Canton of Graubünden levied a cantonal estate tax of 4% on the estate, i.e. CHF 30,336.-. Furthermore, the municipality of Davos assessed X. a municipal inheritance tax of a total of CHF 72,800.-. X. unsuccessfully demanded that Y. reimburse her the share of the estate and inheritance tax attributable to T.'s inheritance share, i.e. a total of CHF 15,345.-. When X. requested the tax administration to compel Y. to pay this amount, it referred her to the civil courts. X. unsuccessfully appealed this decision to the Administrative Court of the Canton of Graubünden.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court confirmed the decision of the Administrative Court to refer the appellant X. to the civil courts. It stated that the Graubünden system of levying estate and inheritance tax represents a pragmatic and balanced balancing of interests: The tax authorities can turn to a solvent heir whose share exceeds the tax amount to demand the entire tax debt. This heir must pay the taxes and can then reclaim from the other heirs and legatees the part that exceeds his personal estate share. If he fails to do so, he will be referred to the civil courts. This practice takes into account the interests of the tax administration and the estate…