주주 과세의 조세중립성 제고- 배당소득 이중과세 및 유보소득 과세이연을 중심으로 -

In general, the tax system pursues the tax neutrality. This is because the tax neutrality helps to accomplish economic efficiency. The taxation for corporate entity separate from the taxation for shareholders based on corporate income interferes with a taxpayer’s decision-making process in various aspects, which impairs the tax neutrality. This article analyzes the merits and limits of Imputation Method adopted by the current Income Tax Act from the perspectives of two aspects of tax neutrality and makes a new approach(hereinafter, “New Approach”) in order to enhance it. The taxation for corporate entity leads to the different tax treatment between corporate entity and non-corporate entity because of double taxation for dividend income. Such difference affects the choice of business form by a taxpayer. Also, the taxation for corporate entity causes the different tax treatment between retained earning and distributed dividend. Such difference influences whether to distribute corporate income to shareholders. The Imputation Method resolves the double taxation for dividend income in a certain degree. The Method does not cure the tax deferral for retained earning in any way. The New Approach proposed in this article is designed to overcome the limits of the Imputation Method. The structure of the New Approach composes of three steps: (i) taxation for corporate entity on the basis of the ability of shareholders to pay tax upon realization of income by the corporate entity, (ii) taxation for shareholders on dividend distribution, (iii) refund of corporate tax to the corporate entity in a proportionate way upon taxation for shareholders. In particular, the New Approach distinguishes itself from the Imputation Method in (i) and (iii). The New Approach enhances the tax neutrality to a degree which the Imputation Method fails to reach. The New Approach resolves the double taxation and remarkably the tax deferral of retained earning. Furthermore, considering the uncertainty of the incidence of corporate tax, the New Approach, which refunds the corporate tax to corporate entity, helps to reduce the risk of distortion of wealth distribution which may be increased by the Imputation Method. However, the New Approach has its own limits to reach the tax neutrality since it takes the dividend income only, not the capital gain on share transfer, into account. The New Approach does not resolve the differences of tax treatment between the corporate entity and the non-corporate entity caused by the overlapped taxation for corporate income and capital gain on share transfer, and between distributed dividend and share repurchase.