교육세법상 책임준비금 조항의 해석론 및 입법론 - 대법원 2024. 11. 28. 선고 2021두63044 판결의 의미와 과제 -

According to Article 5(a) of the 2010 Enforcement Decree of the Education Tax Act, certain types of policy reserves will be subtracted from revenues in calculating insurers’ education tax amounts. The requirements of the Article 5(a) may be divided into two parts as follows: (1) maturity or surrender of a policy or death of the insured, and (2) decrease of policy reserves. The Supreme Court of Korea (“SCK”) rendered a decision to the effect that the meaning of the second requirement was the decrease of policy reserves resulting from the actual payment of claims or surrender value, in its Ruling 2017Du30290 (September 3, 2020). The SCK Ruling 2021Du63044 (November 28, 2024) adjudicated on the first requirement. According to this ruling, the first requirement means the events in which insurers should pay claims or surrender value with the decrease of premium reserves. Against this backdrop, in the SCK Ruling 2021Du63044, the SCK concluded that the first requirement would not be met where claims of long-term non-life insurance were paid with the decrease of loss reserve. The SCK’s statutory interpretation is righteous, since this conclusion is based on the legal history of the Article 5(a) and related regulations. Against the backdrop of tax policy, it is recommended to revise the Enforcement Decree of the Education Tax Act (“EDETA”). First, it is necessary to amend the EDETA by specifying insurance types and policy reserve categories as subtraction factors in order to provide certainty to taxpayers as well as tax administrations. Second, the actual payment of long-term non-life insurance claims with the decrease of loss reserve should be treated as a subtraction factor for the purposes of calculating education tax, which will contribute to enhancing equity in taxation. Third, the education tax system should be amended pursuant to tax neutrality and ability to pay.