Facts
The appellants, A. and [B.C.] -[D.] , declared a liquidation profit from the sale of a participation in the [X.] CartA in Germany in their tax returns for 2008, 2009, and 2010. The tax administration of the canton of Thurgau determined during the assessment procedure for the year 2011 that the proceeds from the sale of the participation were held in a securities account at a German bank and that the income derived from it had not been declared in the years 2009 and 2010. The tax administration of the canton of Thurgau and the Federal Tax Administration (for direct federal tax) requested the dismissal of the appeal.
The Administrative Court of the canton of Thurgau dismissed the appeal of the married couple [C.] -[D.] as the last cantonal instance. Against this, A. and [B.C.] -[D.] have filed an appeal in public law matters with the Federal Court.
Considerations
The Federal Court dealt with the question of whether the tax administration of the canton of Thurgau was justified in conducting a subsequent tax procedure. The appellants argued that they had made an error in declaring the income from the securities account and that the tax administration should have recognized this.
However, the court came to the conclusion that the tax administration was entitled to assume, based on the appellants' declaration, that it was a claim whose amount was not yet finally determined and which had not yet been paid out and therefore did not generate any current income. The appellants' declaration error was in any case not clearly apparent or obvious.
The court also pointed out that the tax administration is…