Facts
The complainants [A.A.] and [B.A.] have been married since 1965 and had their police residence from 1989 to 2004 in [H.] /GR. In May 2004, they deregistered in [H.] /GR and stated that they were moving to the United Arab Emirates. The spouses returned temporarily to [H.] /GR between June and December 2007. [B.A.] was active as the sole shareholder and board member of various companies based in [D.] /LU.
The Federal Tax Administration (FTA) launched a criminal investigation against the spouses in 2014 on suspicion of tax evasion. The tax administration of the canton of Lucerne established in 2015 that the spouses were unlimitedly tax-liable in [D.] /LU between 2004 and 2010. The spouses appealed to the Lucerne Cantonal Court, which granted their appeals for the tax years 2004 and 2005 due to statute of limitations, but rejected them for the tax years 2006, 2007 and 2008.
The spouses filed an appeal with the FSCA and requested the annulment of the judgments of the Lucerne Cantonal Court. They argued that they had their residence in the United Arab Emirates or in [H.] /GR during the tax years 2006, 2007 and 2008 and were not subject to taxation in the canton of Lucerne.
Considerations
1. Admissibility of the appeal
The appeal is directed against a decision of a last, higher cantonal instance in a public law matter. The complainants are entitled to appeal as taxpayers. The appeals were filed within the statutory time limit and in the required form.
2. Subject of dispute
The subject of dispute is limited to the question of whether the canton of Lucerne has tax sovereignty over the complainants for the tax years 2006, 2007 and 2008. The complainants cannot extend the subject of dispute to questions that are subordinate to…