Facts
The appellant, [A.] , is a co-owner of a property in [U.] with a 50% share. In 2006 and 2007, renovation work was carried out on the property, the costs of which the appellant deducted in her tax returns. The tax administration of the canton of Bern only partially recognized the maintenance costs. The appellant lodged an objection, which was rejected by the tax administration. The Tax Appeals Commission of the canton of Bern confirmed the objection decisions. The Administrative Court of the canton of Bern dismissed the appeal and imposed the procedural costs on the appellant.
The appellant lodged an appeal with the Federal Court and requested that the deduction of 100% of the maintenance costs be recognized. She argued that due to the corporate legal relationships, she had to fully tax the co-ownership of the property and therefore 100% of the maintenance costs should be deductible.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the appeal and came to the conclusion that the lower court had rightly confirmed the deduction of 50% of the maintenance costs. The court stated that the taxpayer could not rely on the tax authority treating a particular situation in the same way in the following year. The appellant had not shown why the Bernese practice and the refusal of the support deduction based on it should be arbitrary.
The court also rejected…