2024년 소득세 판례 회고

This article analyzes the Supreme Court’s 2024 decisions related to income tax. All six rulings mark the first time the Supreme Court has explicitly addressed these issues. The main topics of each decision examined in this article are as follows： ❶ Supreme Court Decision 2021du46940 (Jan.25,2024)：This is the so-called “modified triangle case.” The issue concerns whether the primary taxing rights should belong to “the source and residence country” or to “the country where the permanent establishment is located” when both the payer and recipient of income are residents of the same contracting country, but the income is attributed to a permanent establishment in another contracting country. ❷ Supreme Court Decision 2021du32248 (Feb.8,2024)：This case examines when taxes paid to a source country are eligible for a foreign tax credit in the residence country. The issue is related to resolve double taxation when contracting countries apply different tax treaty provisions to the same income. ❸ Supreme Court Decision 2021du35308 (Sept.12,2024)：This decision addresses whether money paid according to a final judgment qualifies as an ordinary business expense and is therefore deductible. ❹ Supreme Court Decision 2022du47629 (Nov.20,2024)：The issue in this case pertains to the proper tax year in which a taxpayer should recognize income, such as provisional payments. While similar issues have been addressed in precedents involving withholding tax payers, this case specifically involves a corporate income taxpayer. ❺ Supreme Court Decision 2021du48359 (Dec.12,2024) etc.：These rulings examine whether costs paid to a developer for creating a new software qualify for an R&D expense deduction. The rulings on similar issues have varied depending on the nature of the software involved. ❻ Supreme Court Decision 2024du34122 (Dec.24,2024) etc.：These cases consider whether welfare points provided under an optional welfare system should be classified as earned income. The issue arose after the Supreme Court 2016da48785 Decision (Aug.22,2019) ruled that welfare points do not constitute ordinary wages under the Labor Standards Act.