해외투자펀드에 대한 과세제도 현황 및 문제점

Abstract

This paper examines tax rules related to collective investment funds focusing on international investments. It first summarizes Korean tax rules on investments through collective investments, and then investigates the differences between the taxation of domestic investments and that of international investments. One of the most important differences is that it is highly possible for the income from international investments to be subject to international double taxation. In general, collective investment funds are not subject to tax or have little tax liability in their home countries. Thus a normal foreign tax credit rule, under which tax credit is limited by tax liability to the home government, may not be effective in alleviating double taxation. To cope with this problem, Korea introduced a special rule to allow reimbursement of excess credit for qualified collective investment funds. This paper also evaluates the current system based on the following criteria: capital export neutrality; neutrality between investments through collective investment funds and other investments; and the possibility of tax avoidance.