2016년 국세기본법 판례회고

This article introduces five of the Supreme Court’s decisions in 2016 that are relevant to Korean tax laws in general including Framework Act on National Taxes, together with a short commentary on their implications. The five decisions are：① Supreme Court Decision 2016du47659 Decided December 15, 2016 on abuse of the right of tax investigation, ② Supreme Court Decision 2016du39382 Decided September 28, 2016 on criteria for distinguishing the Korean Tax Tribunal’s decision for reinvestigation and its decision for correction of the disposition, and on applicability of principle banning disadvantageous modification to decision for reinvestigation, ③ Supreme Court Decision 2015du52326 Decided April 15, 2016 and 2016du49228 Decided December 27, 2016, both of which found that the procedural right of a taxpayer was violated with respect to advance notice of taxation and pre-assessment review, and, ④ Supreme Court Decision 2014du45246 Decided July 14, 2016 on validity and scope of the claim of reassessment made by a person liable to pay withholding tax, and on its relationship with the claim of national tax refund. The above decisions made by the Supreme Court have significant implications in that they proposed active interpretation and new standards of tax law in a way that promote the rights of taxpayers, instead of simply focusing on convenience of taxation or following previous practices in tax administration.