Dismissal of the appeal against the tax assessment of the appellant

Facts

The appellant [A.A.] was assessed for the 2018 tax year by the Administrative Court of the Canton of Zug. He appealed against this decision to the Federal Supreme Court. The appellant claimed that he should be able to deduct maintenance payments to his wife and children for the entire period of 2018 from his taxable income. He also demanded the full child deduction and the application of the parent tariff. The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the appeal. It held that, according to the legal provisions (Art. 33 para. 1 lit. c DFTA and § 30 para. 1 lit. c CustA/ZG), maintenance payments can only be deducted for the period after the separation of the spouses. The child deduction and the parent tariff are also not available to the appellant, as he made maintenance payments at the end of the tax period and the children were under joint parental custody. The Federal Supreme Court did not see a violation of the principle of equality before the law (Art. 8 para. 1 Cst.) or the principle of taxation according to economic performance (Art. 127 para. 2 Cst.). The tax consequences of the separation in the year of separation do not constitute a "separation penalty" that would violate these constitutional provisions.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court stated that a certain schematization and lump-sum approach is permissible in tax law in order to…