우리나라 중소기업 가업상속세제의 현황과 개선방안에 관한 연구

Abstract

The aims of this study are to study the overall perceptions on family successions of the small and medium businesses, the necessity/options of the successions, and the improvements, And to discuss the problems in inheriting family businesses, and the methods to solve them. Also, to study on the taxation issues during the succession processes, and suggestions for the improvements. For the research, the present reporter has employed the questionnaires, and the present reporter has collected data from 104 business owner respondents and 107 taxation accountants, excluding the questionnaires that were poorly filled out. The questionnaire method, it was to conduct the survey to the interested parties - the small and medium sized enterprises, and taxation accountants, aiming to examine the situations surrounding the successions of family businesses as well as the factors impacting the related decisions. They were designed separately for the business owners and taxation professionals, with four different sections on perceptions, acquisition of information, the processes of inheriting businesses, and the improvements, using Likert scales. Through the survey, the present reporter sought to examine the current situations in succeeding family businesses, and the factors impacting them. To examine the characteristics of the samples, Frequency Analysis was used, while T-Test and Rank Test were carried out to analysis the sections in the questionnaire. Kendall's Rank Correlation Test was employed to analyse the ranks in groups, and to analyse the differences of insights between the two groups, Mann-Whitney's U Test was used. Summing up the research results, the two groups view that successions of family businesses are needed for continuation of stable managements and employments, while general public may not welcome the events. Also, the respondents pointed that the burdens such as the inheritance tax should be eased and the successors and continuations of business managements must be fostered. In cases of two or more successors, different standards exist in dividing businesses and other inheritances, causing more confusions. For the improvements, the present reporter's argument was supported by the findings that most of the respondents believe the system that inheritance tax should be exempt for the companies which have existed more than 50 years (instead, the successors should be taxed for capital gains, which of 10% tax rate), while introduction of a new taxation system, allowing the inheritance tax to be payed with 3 year grace period, payable in 5 years as well as permitting more than one successors for the businesses are considered the optimal improvements. This study is not without its own limitations; the questionnaire results may not be regarded as the representative statistics for the two parties, due to the limitations of questionnaires and data collections. The scales are rather subjective and limited in nature, and the results used for logistic regression were mixed. Also, the control groups were difficult to set. When these flaws are compensated, with more objective and plausible data for the factors are collected, one would be able to provide proper reform models for the inheritance taxation system, more appropriate and reasonable for the small and medium enterprises, and government.