가업상속 공제제도의 변천과정과 문제점 및 개선방향

Abstract

The Inheritance tax relief system for business succession in Korea was changed every year during the past six years. This study tries to analyze main contents of each reform and to draw major issues of the current inheritance tax relief in Korea. The main direction of six times reforms was on one hand to increase the amount of inheritance deductions (from 0.1 billion Korean Won to 30 billion Korean Won) and to enlarge the scope of beneficiary businesses for the tax relief (not only for SMEs, but also some large companies with sales volume of up to 150 billion Korean Won). On the other hand those reforms focused on strengthening qualifications for the relief and job maintenance requirements after business succession. Based on the analysis of those reforms this study finds five issues; legal instability due to often reforms, inequality according to firm size, weakening corporate growth willingness, and moral hazard problem regarding job maintenance requirements. In order to tackle those issues this study provides some reform suggestions; evaluating effects of the current inheritance tax relief system, incorporating total amount of wage into the job maintenance requirements after business succession, and providing tax relief to all businesses, regardless of their size. Regarding expanding tax relief to all businesses the study suggests to reinforce the job maintenance requirements for business succession of large companies.