Refusal to refund withholding tax due to forfeiture of the claim

Facts

The spouses [A.A.] and [B.A.] , who hold all the shares of [C. GmbH] , applied for a refund of the withholding tax for the year 2014. The company had distributed a gross dividend of CHF 20,000 for the 2013 financial year and paid the withholding tax of CHF 7,000 to the Federal Tax Administration (FTA). The taxpayers declared their participation in the 2014 securities portfolio, but did not mention the dividend. After the Cantonal Tax Office of Aargau (KStA/AG) inquired about the dividend, it refused to refund the withholding tax due to the forfeiture of the claim.

The taxpayers appealed to the Special Administrative Court of the Canton of Aargau, which dismissed the appeal. The spouses then appealed to the Federal Supreme Court and requested that the decision be set aside and that it be established that the claim for reimbursement had not been forfeited.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court examined the prerequisites for a judgment in public law disputes and found that they were met. It decided that the appeal was basically admissible, but not the application to establish the unconstitutionality of Circular Letter No. 40 and the federal court's practice.

The court stated that the violation of constitutional rights is only reviewed to the extent that such a complaint has been raised and sufficiently substantiated in the appeal. It found that the lower court had correctly applied the federal court's practice regarding the interpretation of Art. 23 WTA (forfeiture of the claim of natural persons to a refund of withholding tax).

The Federal Supreme Court concluded that the taxpayers had neither made a…