휴대폰 단말기 약정보조금의 부가가치세 과세표준에의 포함 여부에 관한 연구

Abstract

The mobile handset subsidy is a system where mobile communication service companies pay for a part of mobile phone cost in order to attract subscribers. Although there was a time when this system was temporarily prohibited as the subsidy competition became overheated after the introduction of system, it is utilized as one of important marketing techniques for attracting new subscribers of mobile communication service companies and maintaining the existing subscribers. The status on whether such mobile handset contract subsidy is the one related to the sale of mobile handset itself or the one related to the sale of mobile communication service provided by mobile communication service companies can become a problem while the nature of mobile handset contract subsidy is also divided into an opinion that it falls under the sales discount and an opinion that it falls under the sales subsidy Although it doesn't become a problem regardless of whether it falls under discount or subsidy in Corporate Tax Act and Income Tax Act, this is a very important issue in the Value-Added Tax Act since a lot of difference is shown in the amount of sales tax. In other words, one wouldn't be able to deduct from the supply value of mobile handset if the mobile handset contract subsidy is the one related to the sale of mobile communication service rather than the sale of mobile handset itself. Also, while the amount of sales tax is reduced by as much as the amount that has multiplied the value added tax rate (10%) to the value by being deducted from the supply value if its legal nature falls under the sales discount, the amount of value added tax sales gets comparatively greater from not being deducted from the supply value if interpreted as falling under the subsidy. In other words, as the issue of this paper is whether the mobile handset contract subsidy is seen as the one related to the sale of mobile handset itself and whether its legal nature falls under the sales discount or sales subsidy, since not only the contract subsidy on the mobile communication handset is the one related to the mobile communication service which is not the sale of mobile handset itself but must be seen as the sales subsidy which is not the sales discount even in terms of the mobile communication service according to the interpretation of existing law, deducting this amount from the supply value according to the Value-Added Tax Act of the mobile handset itself is improper. The grounds for this are as follows. First, while the sale of mobile handset is performed as two transactions as it is always accompanied by the sale of mobile communication service, one is the sales transaction of the mobile handset itself and the other is the sales transaction of mobile communication service. In this case, it is appropriate to consider the mobile handset contract subsidy as the one connected to the sale of mobile communication service to be created in the future rather than being connected to the sale of mobile handset itself. Also, the payment of mobile handset contract subsidy followed by the mandatory subscription contract must be seen as the one formed between the actual subscriber of transaction and the mobile communication service company. Second, while it is appropriate to classify sales discount and sales subsidy based on whether the fixed conditions of deducting fixed amount directly from the usual supply value at the time of supplying goods or services are the ones related to the 'quality, quantity and delivery or payment of supply amount' of the corresponding goods or services, the mobile handset subsidy must be seen as subsidy according to such standard. Third, while there is an opinion that the sales subsidy must be limited as a case of paying as grace under certain business motives after the supply of amount without the obligation to pay the person getting supplied according to the contract related to supply conditions by the supplier gets completed, this is inappropriate. Fourth, it is appropriate to see the mobile handset contract subsidy as a sales subsidy which is the marketing expense spent in order to attract subscribers on the mobile communication service provided by the mobile communication service company itself. To elaborate, the mobile handset contract subsidy falls under a typical sales subsidy which a mobile communication service company pays regardless of the used amount of the service in case of using its mobile communication service for a fixed period of time rather than the one for promoting the sale of mobile handset itself. Fifth, as the mobile handset contract subsidy is the one paid according to the purpose of making people use the mobile communication service mandatorily for a fixed period of time, the value that has deducted mobile handset contract subsidy from the sale price of mobile handset cannot be used as the value added tax base at the position of a party supplying the mobile device itself. Finally, the mobile handset contract subsidy is the method of increasing the demand even without reducing the mobile communication service charges unlike the one lowering the mobile communication service charges Therefore, as the mobile handset contract subsidy must be seen as a separate expense item which is not an item to decrease the sale of mobile communication service, it must be seen as sales subsidy which is not the sales discount deducted from the value added tax base.