How a Swiss Taxpayer Outplayed the Tax Office With a Perfectly Legal Plot Twist
Filing taxes is rarely fun, but sometimes it becomes a battle of wits—and, if you’re lucky, a chance to savor the sweet taste of victory over bureaucracy. That’s exactly what happened to one Swiss taxpayer who, faced with a stubborn tax assessor, turned the tables in a display of “malicious compliance” so legendary, Reddit couldn’t help but applaud.
If you’ve ever felt powerless against tax rules or dreamed of outsmarting the system (entirely above board, of course), grab your calculator and a snack—this is a story you’ll want to hear.
When Swiss Precision Meets Bureaucratic Nonsense
In Switzerland, every tax deduction you claim is scrutinized by a real human assessor. It’s a system designed for accuracy, but as u/LordNite (our clever protagonist) discovered, human judgment sometimes falls short of common sense.
The key players: two Swiss tax rules. One allows you to deduct a fixed amount for lunch away from home if you can’t reasonably return during your break. The other? A mileage deduction for your daily commute. Simple enough, right?
LordNite’s commute was a manageable 15 km (about 9 miles), yet, as he explained in the comments, “It's not the distance itself but the fact that I can't really stop for a lunch break. I usually eat something at my desk while I work.” Still, the tax office rejected his lunch deduction, insisting he had time to drive home and back for lunch each day.
Enter the first twist of the knife: if he was expected to go home for lunch, shouldn’t he be entitled to double the mileage deduction?
Malicious Compliance: The Art of Following the Rules (Just a Little Too Well)
Reddit’s r/MaliciousCompliance is where tales like these become legend. LordNite appealed the lunch deduction denial and, in a move that would make any tax lawyer proud, recalculated his mileage claim for two round trips per day instead of one—morning, lunch (home and back), and evening.
Let’s do the math:
- Original Mileage Deduction: 0.6 CHF x 15 km x 2 trips x 200 days = 3,600 CHF
- Revised (Malicious) Mileage Deduction: 0.6 CHF x 15 km x 4 trips x 200 days = 7,200 CHF
That’s 600 CHF more than the lunch deduction he’d originally claimed, and—crucially—entirely justified by the tax office’s own logic.
When the same tax auditor who’d reviewed LordNite’s earlier appeals called, he couldn’t help but chuckle, “Very well played…” And so, the new tax bill arrived, 600 CHF lower than before, with the office itself covering the cost of the appeal. As u/PAUL_DNAP put it, “Very well played indeed.”
Reddit Reacts: Applause, Envy, and a Few Tax Tales of Their Own
Redditors were quick to celebrate LordNite’s bureaucratic jiu-jitsu. Some, like u/Pinkninja11, could hardly believe the deductions available in Switzerland (“I need this sort of tax deduction in my life. Holy sh*t Switzerland.”). But as LordNite wryly responded, “I don't think you want wealth tax too...” reminding us that every paradise has its trade-offs.
Others questioned the practicality of the tax office’s stance. “Seems like quite a large distance for you to ‘hop home for lunch’ in the middle of a busy day,” observed u/PAUL_DNAP, with several users noting that even short Swiss commutes can take ages depending on traffic (as u/xixoxixa pointed out, “9 miles can take 40+ minutes”).
But the real crowd-pleaser was the way LordNite turned the system on itself. “Well played and well explained,” cheered u/Rat-Soup-Eating-MF, while others shared similar stories of outfoxing tax authorities, from videotaping entire audits (u/eGrant03’s dad went above and beyond!) to demanding refunds with military precision.
A few users, like u/ThirtyMileSniper, raised questions about the environmental sense of such rules: “This should go to your elected representative about the madness of the tax office effectively demanding you do an unnecessary daily 30km round trip.” LordNite’s reply? “We have [carbon goals] but, you know, bureaucraZy is what it is....”
Lessons in Bureaucracy (and How to Survive It)
What can we learn from LordNite’s story besides the obvious delight in a well-played appeal? For one, even the most rigid systems have their loopholes—and sometimes, the best way to beat bureaucracy is to comply so enthusiastically that the system can’t help but trip over itself.
As Redditor u/placebotwo wisely noted, “Taxes purchase civilization.” But civilization, it seems, is sometimes best served with a side of well-timed, well-documented mischief.
And if your own tax system doesn’t offer lunch or mileage deductions (sorry, US readers), at least you can enjoy the schadenfreude of watching a bureaucratic machine eat its own tail.
Conclusion: Outwit, Outplay, Out-File Your Taxes
If you’ve ever tangled with a tax office and won—or just dreamed of finding that perfect, loophole-shaped win—LordNite’s story is your new anthem. Sometimes, the best way to protest an unfair rule is to follow it to its most absurd conclusion.
Got your own tales of bureaucratic bamboozlement? Or just want to debate the merits of lunch deductions and wealth taxes? Drop your thoughts below—let’s keep the spirit of creative compliance alive!
And remember: the next time the tax office tries to nickel-and-dime you, check the fine print. You might just find an even better deduction waiting in the details.
Original Reddit Post: Tax office won't accept my tax deduction: I claim even more deduction on the same basis used to deny it