Right to conduct proceedings in the subsequent tax procedure lies with the executor

Facts

Parties: A.A. (complainant), Tax Administration of the Canton of Bern (respondent), executor B., wife D., grandchild E.A.

Facts:

• C.A. died on November 13, 2016, leaving behind his wife D. and two grandchildren (A.A. and E.A.).
• An marriage and inheritance contract designated B. as executor.
• D. filed a voluntary disclosure with the tax administration on December 23, 2016, which initiated a subsequent tax procedure.
• The subsequent tax rulings of December 1, 2017 were addressed to the executor B.
• A.A. and E.A. filed an objection against the subsequent tax rulings, which was partially granted.
• The tax appeal commission and the administrative court dismissed the legal remedies, as the right to conduct proceedings lies with the executor.

Considerations

The right to conduct proceedings in the subsequent tax procedure lies with the executor, as he, pursuant to Art. 518 and Art. 596 para. 1 CC, exercises the rights and duties of the decedent. The executor acts in his own name and as a party, whereby he must refer to his legal authorization. The heirs are not authorized to conduct proceedings to the extent that this right belongs to the executor.

The civil law universal succession leads to the tax law succession, whereby the heirs enter into the tax law position of the decedent. However, the individual heirs can file a complaint in tax law proceedings without the other heirs necessarily having to participate in the proceedings. There is no necessary joinder of parties.

The prevailing doctrine and case law assumes that the right to conduct proceedings…