Federal Court Rules on VAT Exemption for Mortgage Brokerage Services, Partially Grants Taxpayer’s Appeal

• The case concerned whether financial brokerage services for mortgage loans were VAT-exempt.
• The taxpayer claimed exemption under Art. 21(2)(19)(a–e) of the VAT Act; the lower court denied this, citing lack of independent activity and self-interest.
• The Federal Administrative Court found the taxpayer’s brokerage activity to be independent and not part of an indivisible service package.
• Self-interest was recognized only when the taxpayer held a majority stake in the service recipient; otherwise, no self-interest was found.
• The taxpayer’s appeal was partially granted for the 2015 tax period (due to time-bar) and for tax-exempt services; the appeal was dismissed in all other respects.

Source: bvger.weblaw.ch

Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.

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