Facts
The appellants [X.] and [Y.] , who had been living in [A.] /SG since 2001, acquired a property in [B.] /TG on May 3, 2005, and built a single-family home on it, which they occupied in the winter of 2005/06. They deregistered from the police and military in [A.] on December 30, 2005, and gave up their previous residence at the end of February 2006.
The Tax Office of St. Gallen taxed the spouses for the tax period 2005 with a taxable income of CHF 90,900.--. The appellants filed an appeal and requested that their tax domicile be assumed to be in [B.] as of December 31, 2005, and that the tax sovereignty for 2005 be awarded to the canton of Thurgau.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined the appeal in public law matters and decided that the appeal is only admissible to the extent that it relates to subjective tax liability. The question of objective tax liability and the repeal of all tax assessment decisions could not be examined.
The court found that the tax domicile (main tax domicile) of a non-self-employed person is the place where the person concerned stays with the intention of permanent residence or where the center of their life interests is located. The center of life interests is determined by the totality of objective, external circumstances.
The…