Facts
The appellant [X.] is divorced and shares joint parental custody of their daughter [T.] with the child's mother. The daughter lived with [X.] either from Friday to Tuesday or on Monday and Tuesday per week. He paid monthly maintenance payments for his daughter of over CHF 15,012.-- in 2005. For the 2005 tax period, [X.] deducted the maintenance contributions, claimed the child deduction or the deduction for a child in the same household (cantonal tax only), as well as tax rate B (for married and single individuals with children). However, the tax administration and the lower instances only granted him the deduction for maintenance contributions, but not the additional child deductions and the preferential tax rate.Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court confirmed that under federal law, the appellant can only claim the deduction for maintenance contributions, but not the child deduction and the special tax rate. This results from the prohibition of cumulation, according to which the same social deduction for the same child may not be claimed by multiple persons. Since the mother must declare the maintenance contributions as income and thus primarily provides for the child's maintenance, she is entitled to the child deductions and the preferential tax rate. It would be contrary to the system to also grant these benefits…