Interruption of the Statute of Limitations upon Delivery of Assessment Proposals to Tax Representatives

Facts

The self-employed farmer A. was assessed for the 2009 tax year with a taxable income of CHF 2,216,200.- from the sale of building land. The St. Gallen Cantonal Tax Office had sent the assessment proposal in 2014 to an accounting firm that had prepared the tax return for A. A. claimed that the statute of limitations for the assessment had expired, as the assessment proposal had not been directly served on him.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court held that the statute of limitations under Art. 120 para. 3 lit. a DFTA is only interrupted if the official act is directly communicated to the taxpayer or their representative, so that they can take note of it. Mere service on third parties who are not legitimized as representatives is not sufficient. Even though the accounting firm had prepared the…