해운기업 관련 몇 가지 조세문제에 관한 고찰 - 국적취득조건부 나용선 선박의 취득가액 산정을 중심으로 -

Abstract

This is a study on the three tax matters chronologically important in relation to Korean shipping companies since the rising of Korean shipping industry and the acquisition cost amount of ships obtained via bareboat charter with hire purchase option("BBC-HP", called "BBC under a condition of acquiring nationality" in Korea) for the Korean corporate income tax purpose. Focussing on the tax matters, the earliest experience which korean shipping companies had was the tax relief system for industrial rationalization. Levying duties on the ships leased via BBC-HP and imposing criminal penalties on flags of convenience was another and bitter experience. The introduction of the tonnage tax system was the latest. The tonnage tax system would be the shipping industry-friendly measure indeed. In commercial terms BBC-HP is a contract for the lease of a ship for the stipulated period of time by virtue of which the lessee has complete possession and control of the ship(but not legal ownership). At the time when final installment is paid, the legal ownership is to be transferred to the lessee. For this reason, the BBC-HP should be characterized as both of a lease with transfer ownership agreement and a financing lease. Korean corporate income tax regulation provides different rules for each of the international lease under condition of transfer ownership agreement and the financing lease, respectively, when both of them are effectively identical. As a result, BBC-HP lessees are able to recognize the acquisition cost amount by those different rules as he is pleased. It is unreasonable for taxpayers to have the above alternatives. The corporate income tax regulation should be revised to repeal the provision that rules the international lease with transfer ownership agreement(part of Art 68(4) of Korean corporate income tax regulation).