Facts
The appellants, [A.A.] and [B.A.] , had received a capital payment from their pension fund in 2009. The canton of Aargau and the canton of Grisons taxed this capital payment. The appellants requested the cancellation of the intercantonal double taxation.
The lower court, the Administrative Court of the canton of Aargau, had denied the grounds for a lump-sum payment due to the lack of commencement of an independent gainful activity and had taxed the capital payment as other income.
The appellants complained of a violation of the right to be heard and an incorrect establishment of the facts. They claimed that they had commenced an independent gainful activity and that the capital payment should therefore not be taxed as other income.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the application of the harmonized cantonal tax law by the cantonal authorities with free cognition. It found that the lower court had denied the existence of a legally valid grounds for a lump-sum payment within the meaning of Art. 5 para. 1 lit. b VBA due to the lack of commencement of an independent gainful activity.
The Federal Court came to the conclusion that the lower court had rightly denied the profitability of the appellant's activity as an asset manager. The appellants had not submitted sufficient evidence of the actual activity as an asset manager and the lower court had justified doubts about the intention of generating profits.
The Federal Court decided that the capital payment should not be taxed as other income if the appellants wanted to use the lump-sum…