Facts
The A. AG, a legal entity with its registered office in U./SG, was registered in the commercial register on 20 February 2003. In 2008, the registered office was relocated to V./AR. The tax authority of the Canton of St. Gallen found that the A. AG had been subject to unlimited tax liability in the Canton of St. Gallen (U.) since 1 April 2011 due to the place of actual management. The A. AG requested the annulment of the decision of the Administrative Court of the Canton of St. Gallen and the determination that there was no unlimited tax liability in the Canton of St. Gallen. Alternatively, the A. AG requested the annulment of the tax assessment decisions of the cantonal tax administration of Appenzell Ausserrhoden and the refund of the unlawfully collected taxes.
The Administrative Court of the Canton of St. Gallen had found that the place of actual management of the A. AG was located in the Canton of St. Gallen. The A. AG disputes this and claims that the actual management took place in V./AR.
Considerations
The Federal Court dismissed the appeal against the Canton of St. Gallen and upheld the appeal against the Canton of Appenzell Ausserrhoden, insofar as it was considered. The Court found that the place of actual management of a legal entity is located where the threads of management come together, where the essential business decisions are made, and where the company has the actual, factual center of its economic existence.
The Court also found that the burden of proof and the burden of presenting evidence in tax law are distributed in a similar manner to Art. 8 CC and that the preponderance of probability is sufficient as a standard of proof if full proof is not possible or not reasonable due to the nature of the matter. In this case, the Court found that the A. AG had conducted its business…