A Bernese dentist, refusing to pay his taxes and social security contributions, ignored the state’s bills for 15 years. Recently declared bankrupt, he is sticking to his guns.
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The dentist qualifies the taxes as an illegal debt within the meaning of the Code of Obligations (illustration).
sda
For 15 years, a Bernese dentist refused to pay his taxes. He even hid six million francs in his daughters’ bank accounts. Sentenced to a suspended prison sentence, his appeal against the judgment was rejected.
Despite this, the dentist persists. According to him, the taxes constitute an illegal debt within the meaning of the Code of Obligations. “You have the right not to pay taxes,” he insists.
He thus left numerous invoices from the Confederation, the canton and the compensation fund unpaid. The sixty-year-old, whose office is now closed, assures that he does not consider himself an opponent of the State.
He owes 485,000 francs in social contributions
Although he honored the salaries and invoices of his suppliers, the dentist did not respect his obligations to the State: to date, he owes 485,000 francs in social security contributions.
The bankruptcy was declared in court proceedings, but the dentist sticks to his position. During the hearing, he simply handed over a letter before immediately leaving the room.
With the bankruptcy procedure, his property is frozen and his assets seized. The man would have already withdrawn around 2.8 million francs in cash ten years ago.
Tax expert Adriano Marantelli from the University of Bern, quoted by the “Tages-Anzeiger”, explains that there is no legal loophole to escape this obligation. Although the Code of Obligations does not mention tax obligations, they are present in federal legislation and in the tax law of the canton of Bern.
