Bär & Karrer prevails before the Swiss
Federal Supreme Court in a significant
tax case on intercantonal profit
allocation 

Bär & Karrer successfully represented a client before the Swiss Federal Supreme Court in a significant intercantonal double taxation dispute concerning the allocation of profits for large construction sites on the Gotthard Base Tunnel project.

The Cantonal tax court had upheld the Ticino tax authority's decision not to follow a tax ruling agreed upon with the taxpayer (as well as with other involved Cantons of Uri, Nidwalden and Zurich), providing for a profit allocation based on wages. The Ticino tax authority did not consider itself bound by the tax ruling and deemed that profits should be allocated based on the length of the railway tracks on the territory of the Cantons involved.

In its decision of 29 December 2025 (published on the court's website on 5 February 2026) in case 9C_231/2024, the Court annulled the Ticino cantonal tax court’s judgment. It agreed with the appellant and held that the profit allocation based on wages, as agreed in the tax ruling, was correct.

The team was led by Paolo Bottini and Matthias Bizzarro and included Christina Rüdisühli and Sébastien Di Natale (all Tax).


9C_231/2024 - Schweizerisches Bundesgericht