자동차세의 국제비교와 형평성 분석

Abstract

Automobile tax is divided into automobile tax on automobile ownership and automobile tax on automobile driving. In Korea, the automobile tax rate is determined by engine displacement so that the automobile tax is moving away from the nature of property tax. The current automobile tax in Korea was set in 1991 based on the amount of engine displacement; no consideration was given to the property, usage, and environmental aspects of the vehicle. In particular, the automobile tax is the same for low-priced cars and high-priced cars. High-priced imported cars, whose prices are 2 to 5 times that of domestic cars, also bear the same vehicle tax if they have the same engine displacement. This shows that the automobile tax burden is not equal at all. This study aims to discuss rational automobile taxation measures by examining the current status of foreign taxation on automobile tax. After examining whether automobile tax is equal among local governments and individuals, this study discusses measures to improve automobile tax in Korea. The data on the 11th fiscal panel survey was used to determine whether automobile tax is equitable among individuals, which is the most recent fiscal panel survey as of 2018. The taxation status of foreign countries is examined through Internet surveys and literature surveys. When looking at automobile taxation in the acquisition stage in Europe, various criteria are used in addition to VAT. Vehicle taxes use vehicle prices to take into account the nature of property taxes, and vehicle taxes use CO2 emissions to take into account the environment. In the United States, the federal government imposes a luxury tax, and in California there is a Vehicle License Fee (VLF) similar to property taxes. In Connecticut, the tax rate is different depending on the vehicle price, based on $50,000. In the case of the UK, a luxury tax of around 320 pounds is imposed annually when the vehicle price is 40,000 pounds (about 62 million won). In order to improve the system of automobile tax in Korea, this study proposes a method of imposing automobile luxury tax on automobiles over a certain price in order to strengthen the property nature of automobile tax. The introduction of automobile luxury tax would intensify fiscal inequality. Therefore, it would be desirable to for provincial governments to collect automobile luxury tax and to allocate resources for balanced development of local governments.