Facts
The complainant [X.] acquired a property in Oberrieden ZH on June 21, 2000, from [A.] at a price of CHF 810,000.-- in a public auction. The Commission for Real Estate Taxes of the municipality of Oberrieden taxed [A.] with a real estate profit tax of CHF 43,700.--, but was unable to collect the tax. On June 30, 2003, the Commission for Real Estate Taxes asserted the statutory lien for the real estate profit tax claim against [X.] . [X.] lodged an objection, which was dismissed. The Administrative Court of the Canton of Zurich partially upheld the complaint and determined the scope of the statutory lien.
[X.] filed a constitutional complaint with the Federal Court and requested that the decision of the Administrative Court be set aside. The complainant argued that the Administrative Court had arbitrarily applied cantonal law and interfered with the constitutionally guaranteed property rights.
Considerations
The Federal Court examined whether the constitutional complaint was admissible. It found that the complaint was fundamentally admissible, as it concerned a cantonal final decision that could not be challenged by any other federal legal remedy.
The Federal Court pointed out that the statutory lien for the real estate profit tax arises under § 208 of the Zurich Tax Act, without requiring an entry in the land register. It found that the municipality of Oberrieden was claiming a statutory lien for the real estate profit tax that had accrued in the event of a forced sale of the property in question.
The Federal Court examined the complaint of…