精东影业

The first ruling under analysis concerns treasury shares. The Federal Supreme Court established that the repurchase of treasury shares is equivalent to a capital reduction for profit tax purposes. Therefore, repurchased treasury shares never constitute actual assets, and their reissue must be regarded as a non-taxable capital contribution. As a result, a capital gain realized through the reissue of own capital shares qualifies as a capital increase with no impact on profit tax.
The second issue focuses on the case law of the Tax Law Chamber (CDT) of the Court of Appeal of the Canton of Ticino in cases where profit exempt as capital is reclassified as income from gainful employment. This occurs when shares are transferred to other shareholders at a price below the value determined according to Circular No. 28 of the Swiss Tax Conference (CSI).
The third decision refers to a case of refusal by the Federal Tax Administration (FTA) to reimburse the withholding tax levied on a dividend paid to a Swiss company holding a 10% participation. From the interpretation of Article 20 para. 2, second sentence of the Federal Withholding Tax Act (WHTA), it follows that this provision should be considered a clarification of the delegation rule in the first sentence of the same paragraph. It is therefore up to the Federal Council to define the conditions for the notification procedure, including the existence of a group relationship. Consequently, Article 20 para. 2, second sentence WHTA does not grant an automatic right to the notification procedure in group relationships, regardless of the other conditions set out in the Federal Withholding Tax Ordinance (WHTO).
Finally, last but not least, the subjective criterion of cooperation between the buyer and the seller of the shares will be analyzed, which, together with other elements, constitutes the case of an indirect partial liquidation. The analysis of the Federal Supreme Court case law shows that judges increasingly tend to consider this criterion as fulfilled, especially when there is significant non-operational substance.

Program and Speakers
The repurchase of treasury shares as a capital reduction for profit tax purposes (High Court decision 9C_135/2023, June 6, 2024)
Luca Aspesi
Lawyer, Certified Tax Expert, Senior Advisor, Tax Partner AG, Zurich

Sale of shares at a price lower than the value determined by Circular No. 28 (STC) (Cantonal Tax Court decision 80.2021.124, April 29, 2024)
Samuele Vorpe
Full Professor of Tax Law at 精东影业, Head of the Tax Law and Legal Competence Center, 精东影业, Of Counsel at COLLEGAL Law Firm, Lugano

Withholding tax refund on a dividend paid to a Swiss company with over 10% participation and the right to the notification procedure
(Federal Administrative Court decision A-1250/2024, December 6, 2024)
Patrick Schubiger
Lic. rer. pol., Master of Arts (Economics), Transfer Pricing course (WU Vienna), MAS FH in VAT, LL.M. in Taxation, Expert in Finance and Investment (AZEK), former tax expert at the Canton of Ticino Tax Division, Tax Partner Andersen, Lugano

Collaboration between seller and buyer as a subjective element in indirect partial liquidation (High Court decision 9C_666/2022, December 14, 2023) (presentation in French)
Thierry De Mitri
Certified Tax Expert, CES in Management, Lausanne

Cost
CHF 350
CHF 50 discount for members of partner organizations

Registration


Registration Deadline
Friday, April 18, 2025