2014년도 소득세법과 상속세 및 증여세법 판례회고

Between January 2014 and January 2015, a total of 40 cases relating to the Income Tax Act and the Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act were rendered by the Supreme Court. From among these, the author has chosen 6 cases relating to the Income Tax Act and 4 cases relating to the Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act respectively, all of which he considers meaningful from a legal perspective or otherwise worthwhile introducing. In this article, the subject matter and significance of these cases have been discussed. Some of the Supreme Court cases of 2014 relating to the Income Tax Act and the Inheritance Tax and Gift Tax Act have clarified judging criteria for issues which were ambiguous under the prior case law, but overall, the Court can be said to have maintained its former position. The author is of the opinion that in particular, 2013Du18810 rendered by the Supreme Court on January 29, 2014 and 2013Du26989 rendered on August 28, 2014 relating to the question of whether certain income can be taxed when retrieval of such income is impossible or uncertain, as well as how the asset in question is to be assessed, require attention. In these decisions, the Supreme Court greatly considered the specific characteristics of the individual cases, thereby encouraging taxation that more closely corresponds with the substance of a situation, and ultimately came to conclusions which further protected the tax payers interests. It is laudable that the taxpayer`s interest are being protected, but since there is a limit to how much consideration can be given to the individual situations of each and every single tax payer, it is left to be seen where the Supreme Court will draw a line in its future case law.