BEPS project 및 금융실명법이 과세 목적의 해외금융거래 수집제도에 미치는 영향

Abstract

Overseas financial transactions are preferable to taxpayers since they have incentives to avoid tax payment and the tax authorities have limits on accessing related information. Meanwhile, each government has a role to look for sources of revenue necessary to run a nation by levying taxes, to provide the public goods, and to return the benefits to people. Accordingly, governments try to increase tax revenue by expanding the tax base and seek ways to obtain evidence on overseas transactions which encroach the basis for taxation sources. Such efforts require cooperation between tax authorities because it is hard to exercise the right to collect information from abroad. The system of collecting information associated to overseas financial transactions is mainly divided into measures for related organizations' activities and relevant legal regulations. It is under active discussion to normalize the underground economy regarding taxation and increasing tax revenue. In particular, prevention of tax avoidance is at the core of the discussion. The key examples of related initiatives are Base Erosion Profit Shifting (BEPS) project designed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the recent revisions to the 「Act on Real Name Financial Transactions and Confidentiality」 in Korea. The OECD has led the movement of reducing offshore tax evasion through overseas financial transactions, and recently decided to implement BEPS project to respond to companies carrying out aggressive tax strategies with businesses abroad. The project consists of 15 action plans and aims to reinforce the taxing right of source countries. The BEPS action plans will significantly contribute to applying the principle of the substantial taxation to overseas transactions. However, they may result in higher taxes and tax compliance costs to multinational enterprises on same overseas transactions, which can in turn, shrink investing activities and reduce overall tax revenue. To identify the effect of these action plans on tax treaties and tax collection from overseas transactions, this study focuses on three action plans related to tax treaties: Action 15 (Developing a multilateral instrument to modify bilateral tax treaties), Action 6 (Preventing treaty benefits in inappropriate circumstances) and Action 14 (Making dispute resolution mechanisms more effective). In addition, the study deals with the impact on taxation after the change in 「Act on Real Name Financial Transactions and Confidentiality」. The revised act applies different taxable income and tax rate based on the residency of account holder if the person under the borrowed-name is found out to be the actual beneficiary. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the change in taxation based on the cases of residents, non-residents, those under borrowed-name, and actual beneficiaries. The study also covers how the amended act affects the exchange of information related to overseas financial transactions from the perspective of disclosing or obtaining data. Compared to the existing studies associated with offshore tax evasion and international data exchange, this study is significant as it reviews the influence of BEPS project action plans on collecting overseas transaction information. Moreover, the study bears differentiated meaning as it also identifies the impact on taxation of the revised Act on Real Name Financial Transactions and Confidentiality, which is at the center of controversies in Korea.