Facts
Swiss national A. resided in Zurich until 30 June 2017. From 1 January 2017 to 30 June 2017, he was employed by company C. GmbH and earned a net salary of CHF 8'843.-. After 30 June 2017, A. transferred his domicile to U./AT. From 19 September 2017 to 27 December 2017, A. was employed by company D. AG. During this period, he commuted daily from his place of residence to his place of work in the canton of Thurgau. Due to his domicile in Austria, an amount of CHF 3'995.25 was withheld at source from his salary at D. AG (CHF 24'603.- net). No tax was levied in Austria. On 28 February 2018, A. filed an ordinary tax return with the tax administration of the canton of Thurgau and requested to be taxed according to the ordinary procedure so that his actual annual income in Switzerland could be taken into account.Considerations
The issue to be decided is whether, for the determination of the tax rate, the period from 1 July 2017 to 18 September 2017, during which A. did not engage in any gainful activity in Switzerland, should be taken into account, or only the period from 19 September 2017 to 27 December 2017, during which he engaged in temporary employment in the canton of Thurgau. According to Art. 40 para. 3 DFTA, when tax liability exists only for part of the fiscal period, tax is levied on the income earned during that period. For regular income, the tax rate is calculated based on the annualized income. Although A.'s domicile was abroad and he was therefore subject to withholding tax as a cross-border commuter, his situation was exceptionally comparable to that of an employee resident in Switzerland…