Relatives of art dealer Yves Bouvier must pay back taxes
Published: Thursday, Dec 14th 2023, 13:01
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The Federal Supreme Court has rejected an appeal by a former employee of Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier against a back tax payment demanded by the Geneva tax authorities. Tania Rappo and her husband concealed commissions in the tens of millions that Rappo had received from the sale of paintings.
The couple's tax returns were re-examined by the tax authorities in 2015 after Yves Bouvier came into conflict with Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev. According to the Federal Supreme Court's ruling published on Thursday, it emerged at the time that the commissions paid by the art dealer to Rappo for her role as an intermediary had not been declared.
These sums were paid directly into companies in tax-privileged locations owned by the complainant Rappo. The tax authorities awarded back taxes totaling almost CHF 20 million for the years 2006 to 2009.
The Geneva Court of Appeal found that the periods prior to 2008 were time-barred - and corrected the tax assessments accordingly. This decision has now been confirmed by the Federal Supreme Court. The ruling does not mention the final amount of the reminders and fines imposed on the couple.
A week ago, the public prosecutor's office in Geneva dropped the criminal proceedings against Yves Bouvier and other individuals, including Tania Rappo. Dmitri Rybolovlev had accused them of having issued inflated invoices for works of art. (Judgment 9C_5782023 of November 27, 2023)
©Keystone/SDA
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