我國課徵分公司利潤稅之探討與建議

Abstract

目前我國稅法規定子公司將稅後盈餘匯給外國母公司時，應就分配之盈餘，就源扣繳所得稅，但對分公司並無相同規定。美國1986年租稅改革法案(Tax Reform Act of 1986)增訂分公司利潤稅(Branch profits tax)之規定，目的即在使外國公司，不論是在美國設置分公司或子公司，就其在美國境內營業所獲之營利事業所得一律負擔相同的稅負。此外，美國國會對residence-of-debtor的判定準則增加例外規定，特別規定外國公司的美國分公司所支付之利息為美國來源所得，應由該分公司按給付額就源扣繳30%之所得稅款，亦進一步消弭分公司或子公司稅負上之差異，促成賦稅平等的目標。

本文以「外國分公司利潤稅」為主題，探討美國分公司利潤稅與分公司利息稅之規定，對於稅額的計算，亦蒐集釋例加以說明。並參考上述研究發現，對我國建構合理之分公司利潤稅制提出建議。

Taiwan imposes a dividend withholding tax on remittances from the foreign subsidiary to its parent company. The foreign branch, however, is not subject to similar tax (remittances are not taxed). U.S Tax Reform Act of 1986 revised the taxation on foreign branch profits, seeking to tax a foreign corporation's U.S. business profits with the same levies, whether the business is done through a domestic subsidiary or an unincorporated branch. In addition to foreign branch profits tax, the U.S. Congress regulated an exception of the residence-of-debtor criterion. This revision regulates that any interest payment attributable to a foreign branches in U.S. be classified as U.S.-source income. Therefore interest paid by a foreign corporation with an unincorporated U.S. branch, is subject to branch-level interest tax of 30%. Like branch profits tax, branch-level interest tax also equalizes the tax burden between foreign subsidiaries and foreign branches, furthering the goal of tax equality. This thesis explores U.S. tax laws on branch profits tax and branch-level interest tax. Examples, with calculation explanation, are introduced to provide a concise and straightforward access to understand the application of tax laws. Based on the research findings, recommendations, relevant for tackling practical problems in Taiwan, are proposed for further tax reform to create a reasonable tax structure in the near future.