我國對技術輸入相關交易之所得課稅問題研究

Abstract

從境外引進技術不但對台灣早期經濟發展有很大貢獻，在現今知識經濟的時代，亦是企業永保競爭優勢之關鍵因素。由於技術之範圍廣泛，技術輸入之態樣亦包羅萬象，從而由技術輸入交易而衍生之所得課稅問題亦甚複雜及多樣化。相關課稅問題主要可歸納為三方面：一、所得定性問題，即因交易而產生之所得應歸類於何種性質；二、國外提供者所取得之所得是否屬我國課稅管轄權之範圍內；三、各類所得課稅之稅率、稅基、報繳方式等等。 在實務上，扣繳義務人與行政機關對於技術輸入交易所產生之所得性質，常有不同見解，致使紛爭不斷。目前所得稅法對於各類所得之定義，或付諸闕如，或不夠明確，無法為納稅人提供完備清楚之規範基礎；法院對於相關案例之判決，亦有值得商榷之處。本文就實務案例之爭議問題加以討論，藉此歸納出各類所得之間關鍵之判別基準。 雖然所得稅法對於各類所得已明文規定其中華民國來源所得之認定標準，但我國稅捐稽徵機關以及納稅義務人或扣繳義務人對於這些規定之解釋適用方式有相當差異，稅捐稽徵機關難免以國庫為優先考量，惟其見解是否能通過租稅法律主義之檢驗，實值探究。並且，在認定涉外所得是否屬中華民國來源所得時，早期稅法的規定對於智慧財產權或無形資產之交易在規範上並不周全，因此本文認為我國應在立法上對於所得來源地之認定作一全盤之檢討。 我國稅法對於各類所得規定不同之租稅效果，大多已行之有年。就某些所得種類而言，宜檢討其稅率與稅基之規定是否符合量能原則、跨國納稅人稅收公平原則與國際稅收中立原則。固定營業場所或營業代理人之存在對於租稅效果有很大影響；對於固定營業場所或營業代理人之認定，我國法令多從製造業之觀點出發，無法配合經濟環境的演進。對於以上議題，宜參酌國際稅法之潮流，加以檢討，使我國租稅政策更趨合理，以促進國際間技術輸入交易。

The importation of technology not only contributes a lot to the early-stage economic development of Taiwan, but also is a crucial factor for the enterprises to maintain their competence under the age of knowledge-driven economy. Due to the extensive scope of technology and the diversity of technology-importation transactions, the tax issues relating technology-importation transactions are quite complicated and diversified. The relevant tax issues can be summarized into three main aspects: 1) Characterization of the involved income, i.e., the category the income derived from the transactions; 2) whether the income obtained by a foreign technology-provider is within the tax jurisdiction of Taiwan; 3) the tax rate, tax base, reporting and payment procedure for each category of income. In practice, the tax withholders and the tax authorities often take different views on the character of income derived by the technology-importation transactions, hence numerous disputes have arisen. Currently, the definitions for income categories provided by Income Tax Law are either missing or obscure. Therefore, the said Law is incapable of characterizing income categories. Furthermore, the court decisions for certain cases need to be discussed and reconsidered. This thesis attempts to discuss the controversial issues and draw conclusions of the rules. Despite that the Income Tax Law has rules for the recognizing the R.O.C. source income, a huge discrepancy of law interpretation exists between the tax authorities-in-charge and the taxpayers or tax withholders. It is natural that tax authorities give priority to national treasury; however, it is questionable whether their interpretation can meet the principle of taxation by law. Moreover, the said Law, which was promulgated in the early stage, seems incomplete in the area of recognizing the R.O.C. source income for transactions involving intellectual property or intangible assets. Accordingly, it is necessary to make a comprehensive research on the issues. The Income Tax Law provides different tax effects for each category of income, which have been enforced for many years. For some income categories, we should assess whether the regulations regarding the tax rate and tax base meet the principle of equity in taxation, the principle of equity in taxation for cross-border taxpayers, and the principle of neutrality for international taxation, etc. Besides, the existence of a fixed-place business or a business agent will have a great impact on the tax effects. Nevertheless, under the current Law, whether a foreign enterprise constitutes a fixed-place business or a business agent in Taiwan is determined from the perspective of manufacturing industry, which is not in line with the evolution of economic environment. As to the issues mentioned above, it is advisable to study the models of international tax practices, for the purposes of improving the tax policy and enhancing the technology-importation transactions of our country.