부가가치세법이 정하는 수탁자의 물적 납세의무에 관한 연구

Abstract

When a trustee performs a transaction on behalf of the trust, the question arises as for to whom should the relevant VAT liability be attributed. The Supreme Court of Korea decided in 2017 that it is the trustee that should incur the tax liability. However, the tax administration at the end of the same year succeeded in inducing the legislature to amend the VAT Act so that the tax liability should be borne by the grantor, and not the trustee. At the same time, a new provision was introduced into VAT law, which provides that the trustee is also secondarily liable for the VAT to the extent of the value of the entrusted property. This type of tax liability is called under Korean VAT law, “tax liability in rem” (hereinafter, the “Trustee’s Liability”). There are other cases under the Korean Framework Act for National Taxes (“FANT”) where such a “secondary” or “in rem” tax liability falls on someone other than the original taxpayer. The main goal of this article lies in reviewing and discussing the Trustee’s Liability. For this purpose, it first analyses the other cases of “secondary” or “in rem” tax liabilities under the FANT, and then goes on to compare with them the Trustee’s Liability. Based on such discussions, this article also attempts to suggest and establish certain views on various interpretative issues that have arisen with regard to the Trustee’s Liability.