원천징수정책이 납세자에게 미치는 영향：프로스펙트 이론의 관점에서

At the beginning of year 2015, tax refund controversy regarding year－end income tax settlement was claimed under the first application of 2013 tax code revision. Faced with growing controversy, the government announced a tax code revision for the additional refund of tax. Government also declared its intention to enforce a system that allows wage earners to choose the withholding tax rate to prevent the year－end settlement controversy. Tax refund or additional tax payment is determined after the year－end settlement according to the differences between the withholding tax amount and the actual tax payable. Logically, tax refund means taxpayers paid more in advance, whereas additional tax payment means tax payers paid less in advance. Most wage earners, however, resist when they have reduced tax refund or pay more after settlement compared to the amount of last year. Tax refund or additional tax payment is just the matter of timing difference in paying the same amount tax. This paper describes the causes of the settlement controversy using prospect theory by Kahneman & Tversky (1979) and accordingly proposes the policy considerations. Wage earners are assumed to consider income before settlement as reference point presented in prospect theory. Reduced refund or additional payment occurs, wage earners experience the dramatic decline of their utilities. The government will have to respond positively so that wage earners can exactly know the reference point in order to prevent sharp decline in their utilities. In particular, wage earners can choose the withholding rate from the second half of 2015. Even if it can be selected, the rapid decline of the taxpayers’ utilities will occur again as long as wage earners’ difficulty with knowing the exact reference points continues.