Facts
The [X. AG] (Taxpayer) offers services in the areas of "central settlement" and "guarantee brokerage". Central settlement includes the collection of credits and forwarding to supplier companies, while guarantee brokerage enables the securing of claims through a guarantee company. The Taxpayer is of the opinion that guarantee brokerage is a non-independent ancillary service to central settlement and is therefore subject to the recipient's location principle. The Federal Tax Administration (FTA) however considers guarantee brokerage to be an independent service subject to the provider's location principle.
The Federal Administrative Court dismissed the Taxpayer's appeal and established that guarantee brokerage is an independent service subject to the provider's location principle. The Taxpayer subsequently filed an appeal with the Federal Supreme Court.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court dismissed the Taxpayer's appeal and established that guarantee brokerage is an independent service subject to the provider's location principle. The Court applied the economic viewpoint and established that guarantee brokerage and central settlement are two separate services that cannot be considered as a unified service.
The Court also established that guarantee brokerage cannot be considered as a non-independent ancillary service to…