Interest Income Tax Evasion,the EU Savings Directive and Capital Market Effects*

The EU Savings Directive has been celebrated as a major political breakthrough in coordinating taxation in Europe. Against this background, the present paper evaluates the real‐world effects of this directive. The directive has left a loophole by providing grandfathering (exemption from withholding tax) for some securities. In this paper, we compare the pre‐tax returns of exempt bonds and comparable taxable bonds. If working around the Savings Directive is difficult for income tax evaders in Europe, then investors should be willing to pay a premium for bonds that are exempt from the withholding rate. Conversely, if such a premium is absent, then this suggests that the supply of existing loopholes (exempt bonds included) is large enough to allow tax evaders to continue evasion at no additional cost. The findings of our study are in line with this latter interpretation.     

税收优惠因抵免制而失效?——基于美国对华直接投资的研究

在国际直接投资研究领域,人们普遍认为,当母国对来源于外国的所得实行抵免制以避免国际重复课税时,东道国对外资企业的税收优惠往往转化为母国政府的财政收入,母国的投资者无法获得东道国给予的税收优惠.通过对1990～2004年实行抵克制的美国及实行豁免制和饶让抵免制的其它西方发达国家在华直接投资进行比较,未发现美国与其它西方发达国家在华直接投资的积极性存在显著差异.由于美国对该国投资者给予税收递延,使得投资者依然能够获得东道国的税收优惠,美国实行的抵免制并未阻碍该国投资者的在华投资热情.     

新个人所得税法对扣纳双方的影响及应对——基于扣缴人义务及纳税人行为视角

新个人所得税法在实践中的运行效果取决于征纳双方在税收征管过程中的耦合作用。一方面,作为联系税务机关与纳税人的中介与桥梁,扣缴人在个税预扣预缴及汇算清缴方面发挥着重要作用;另一方面,税制结构变化与缴税申报模式转变对纳税人影响深远。在新个人所得税下,扣缴人的扣缴清缴合规、沟通保密及判定审查等义务均有不同程度的增加、拓展或提升。而纳税人的缴税申报、现金管理及税收规避等行为更易于引致税务管控及稽查。落实应对建议有助于促使扣纳双方在税务合规的框架内发挥正向合力作用,凭借税收法治助力个税财政收入的实现。     

International interest withholding taxation: Prospects for a common European policy

In 1989 the European Union member states rejected a proposal to introduce a minimum interest withholding tax of 15 percent. Some Union member states, however, remain keenly interested in bringing about some minimum level of international taxation of interest income. This suggests that member states will be asked to reconsider the issue in the near future. This paper first examines the effects of interest withholding taxes on financial markets. It then reviews some of the main aspects of potential tax reform in this area. A major challenge for any future proposal will be to satisfactorily integrate the banking system into a common interest withholding scheme.     

《企业所得税法》源泉扣缴上的几大变化

本文对"两法合并"后所得税源泉扣缴政策的重大变化进行了归纳总结:预提所得税减按10%征收;法定扣缴日期由五日变为七日;对税务机关指定扣缴新设定了三种情形;新增特定情况下的欠税追缴;非居民企业取得权益性投资收益不再免税;利息所得的免税范围有变化;转让财产所得减除项目由"原值"变为"净值"等。     

营利性行为界定与完善非营利组织所得税制标准

非营利组织营利性行为所得的税制标准除了必须坚持收入用途标准和相关经营标准外,还必须做如下补充或修正：税收优惠所得上限符合组织绩效最大化目标;高于社会平均劳动报酬的薪酬差额应调增应纳税所得额;不高于无风险投资收益率的出资者回报免征所得税;非限定性净资产增长率超过规定标准的,实行超额累进税率征收净资产税;依社会服务总量确定管理费用的税前扣除额。     

新个税法模式下的劳动者权益探究

"公平"是税收环节开展与劳动关系平衡的交叉范畴,依附于人身属性以获取财产性利益的劳动者在个人所得税缴纳中占主体地位,工资薪金所得更是个人所得税的丰厚税源。新个税法由"分类税制"向"分类-综合并行二税制"模式转变,以实现对横向税负公平与纵向税负适度的保障,通过劳动性所得综合征税设置、综合所得税率调整、费用扣除标准设计三个主要方面调节劳动者权益杠杆,影射出对公民权利与义务的对等性追求。新个税改革无论在个税税制模式上抑或是税率级距设置上无不体现着对中低收入群体的福利关怀。     

Income Shifting in the Spanish Dual Income Tax*

Based on a model of behavioural response to taxes, and using the Taxpayers Panel from the Instituto de Estudios Fiscales for the period 1999–2009, we analyse whether the dual nature of the Spanish personal income tax (PIT), reinforced by the 2007 reform, has influenced taxpayers’ behaviour, causing them to convert part of their ‘general income’ (from labour, real estate or economic activities) into ‘savings income’ (from movable capital or capital gains). We also extend the analysis of income shifting and study whether Spanish taxpayers also responded to the different tax treatments given to the two types of savings income (from movable capital and capital gains) until 2007, transforming savings income from one type to the other. The results of our study demonstrate three facts. First, Spanish taxpayers did respond to the different tax rates, shifting income from the general base to different forms of savings, especially capital gains. The highest‐income individuals and the self‐employed and business owners are the groups where this behaviour was most marked. Second, the self‐employed and business owners also turned income from movable assets into capital gains, guided by their different tax rates. And third, we find signs of ‘anticipation’ and ‘learning’ effects caused by the 2007 tax reform. We believe that the results obtained will enrich the growing literature on income shifting.     

二元所得税的兴起:国际经验及启示

二元所得税作为一种对资本所得与劳动所得分离课税的个人所得税新模式,已被越来越多的国家所尝试。围绕二元所得税,理论界的争议主要集中于对资本所得征税的效率性、公平性、管理性和普及性等方面。对我国而言,既要反思劳动所得和资本所得的差异,明确个人所得税改革的基本思路与方向,又要采取渐进主义的改革策略,设计二元所得税的短期、中期和长期目标,在条件成熟时予以尝试。     

当前我国个人所得税改革的若干问题探讨

2011年新个人所得税改革政策出台后,我国的个人所得税仍然面临诸多矛盾冲突,如缺乏整体税制设计、改革的指导思想不够明确以及改革缺乏对征管约束的考量等。应明晰个税改革的目标和责任,对改革进行准确定位;对税制进行整体设计,推动个税向综合与分类相结合的制度突破;适时跟进个税征管领域的配套改革。     

One-Way Treaty with the World: The U.S. Withholding Tax and the Netherlands Antilles

This paper chronicles the experiences of the U.S. withholding tax on interest income. In 1984, the U.S. repealed its 30 percent withholding tax on interest income paid to foreign persons or corporations. While the tax raised little revenue, it had imposed substantial implicit costs on U.S. corporate borrowers. Since, prior to repeal, domestically issued bonds were subject either to withholding or strict information requirements, many U.S. multinationals raised funds through foreign finance subsidiaries, primarily in the Netherlands Antilles, to avoid the tax. Although the withholding tax rate was effectively reduced to zero in the U.S., this paper demonstrates that interest flows were highly sensitive to their after-tax cost.     

一个有远见的税收制度应当关注未来的税基——特朗普新税法的成本分析及政策建议

20世纪50年代以来,美国企业所得税税率持续下降,政府税收收入也处于较低水平。2017年,特朗普新税法的实施大幅度降低了企业所得税税率,导致政府税收损失远超预期。然而,新税法实施后,美国企业投资和长期经济增长并没有明显改善。本文认为,一个国家经济效率主要取决于税基而非税率,美国政府应通过税收制度改革,增加对企业投资和研发投入的激励,从而扩大税基,实现经济的长期改善。     

税制结构演变的国际经验与中国展望

税制结构的演变受到经济因素、政府政策目标、国家和社会关系的影响和约束,具有普遍的规律性。考察世界各国税制结构的演变历程可以发现,发达国家税制结构和税种结构均比较稳定,直接税占比高但税种分散,货物与劳务税仍为最大的单一税种;发展中国家税制结构相对稳定但税种结构呈趋势性变化,个人所得税和企业所得税均稳中有升。个人所得税和社会保障缴款是国家间税制结构差异的主要来源,企业所得税负担的国际竞争面临深刻变化。当前我国已基本形成了双主体税制结构,直接税收入中所得类税收、企业主体税收占比较高。鉴于此,我国应在强化均贫富、促消费的目标下,提高个人所得税比重、完善财产税制度、加强自然人税源管理;在新经济增长模式下,对增值税进行适应性调整和税负优化。     

Capital Structure Determinants for Tax‐Exempt Organisations: Evidence from the UK

Abstract: This study looks into the determinants of capital structure in the absence of tax incentives. I find that attributes normally associated with debt use for taxable corporations are likewise correlated with debt use in the tax‐exempt sector. These include the organisation's age, asset tangibility, governance structure, industry grouping, liquidity, profitability, and size. Tax‐exempt sector‐specific findings indicate that debt use is also related to the size of the organisation's endowment and the amount of voluntary income. This study also demonstrates the portability of the theory of capital structure by extending the findings in Smith (2010) beyond the United States.     

论个人所得税的二元课税模式

由于综合个人所得税制在理论基础和实际征管方面都存在着难以克服的困难,发端于北欧国家的对劳动所得适用累进税率而对资本所得适用比例税率的二元个人所得税制就成为一种较为现实而理想的模式,在国际上正得到日益广泛的支持。我国近年提出的综合与分类相结合的个人所得税制模式近似于二元所得税制,应当作为个人所得税改革的长远目标,但还需对具体制度安排进行恰当的设计。     

Prospects for Co-ordination of Corporate Taxation and the Taxation of Interest Income in the EU

This paper evaluates the recent proposals for a co-ordinated capital tax policy in the European Union, focusing on an EU-wide minimum withholding tax on interest income and alternative ways to increase the effective tax rate on corporate profits. The analysis draws on current theoretical and empirical research and views the recent capital tax reforms undertaken by individual member countries as rational adjustments to changing conditions in capital markets. Special emphasis is placed on the constraints for EU tax policy imposed by the possibility of shifting capital income to third countries. The paper concludes that some aggregate efficiency gains can be expected from the EU co-ordination proposals, but additional tax collections will be limited largely to the group of small savers while highly mobile large-scale investors are likely to avoid the EU tax.     

From the global income tax to the dual income tax: Recent tax reforms in the Nordic countries

The paper discusses the recent drive toward a system of dual income taxation (DIT) in the Nordic countries. The pure version of this system combines progressive taxation of labor and transfer incomes with a proportional tax on income from capital at a level equal to the corporate income tax rate. The paper considers the motives for the introduction of this new income tax system, ranging from abstract theoretical arguments to very pragmatic considerations. While the Nordic DIT system violates the principles of the conventional personal income tax, it is argued that it may in fact be more in line with the philosophy of a true Haig-Simons comprehensive income tax. It is also suggested that the DIT system may cause fewer distortions to resource allocation than the conventional income tax. On the debit side, the paper points out several practical problems of taxing income from small enterprises under the differentiated income tax.     

现行企业所得税优惠政策评析

现行企业所得税制度已经运行十年有余,作为非基准税收制度的所得税优惠政策也越来越多,并且其执行效果不尽如人意。通过对现行所得税优惠的政策制度基础进行分析,可得出如下基本判断:两税并存是我国高税率、多优惠的制度基础;作为非基准税收制度的所得税优惠政策对基准所得税制度修订过多,税制的改革已成为必要;改革的方向是两税并轨,清理优惠,对于需要保留的税收优惠政策应贯彻以行业优惠为主、区域优惠为辅的原则。     

应对我国低消费经济现状的税制改革与协调

低消费率和高储蓄率使我国经济蕴藏着较大的隐忧.我国低消费率的形成原因很复杂,刺激消费需要多管齐下.协调当前我国的各项税制改革是提高我国消费率的重要手段.通过调整税基,加强所得税和财产税的地位,减少增值税在我国税收收入中的比重,使我国的税基更多地依赖于所得而不是消费,有利于我国消费率的提高.通过税制改革来改善收入分配状况,提高低收入者的收入水平,也有利于我国消费率的提升.     

我国保险公司税收制度的完善

我国保险公司税制存在诸多弊端 ,如 :中外资保险公司所得税待遇不同 ,营业税负担过重等 ,阻碍了保险业的发展。笔者建议在考虑政策目标 ,税收原则 ,最终纳税人等相关因素的前提下 ,改革现行保险公司税制。如 :统一中外资保险公司所得税税率 ,降低营业税率并实行差别税率等。