적정조세 이론과 한국의 조세개혁 = Optimal Tax Policy and Korea's Tax Reform

국문 초록 (Abstract)

기존 적정조세 이론은 누진세율체계의 소득과세와 넓은 과세베이스의 소비과세를 근간으로 하며 저축 수익에 대한 과세와 소비구성을 왜곡하는 과세는 배제한다. 그러나 조세행정이 미흡하고 금융시장이 미성숙해 비공식 부문이 큰 나라의 경우 세수 확보를 위해 자본집약적인 제조 대기업이나 금융거래, 무역 등 조세정보가 쉽게 노출되는 세원에 의존하게 된다. 이론적으로도 정보 부족 등의 이유로 과세가 어려운 상품이 많은 경우 탄력성에 따른 차별적 과세를 하는 것이 적절할 수 있다. 한국의 조세구조는 선진국에 비해 개인소득세의 비중은 낮고 법인세, 관세, 개별상품세의 비중은 높으며 부가가치세의 과세베이스는 좁다. 이는 조세회피나 비공식 부문이 큰 환경하에서 세원 이탈을막고 세수를 확보하기 위한 정책 선택의 결과이다. 이런 상황에서 적정조세 이론과 선진국 경험에 근거한 일방적 제도 개혁은 새로운 비효율을 낳을 수 있다. 실제 한국의 과세베이스는 금융서비스의 향상이나 조세행정의 발달 등 조세정보를 쉽게 확보할 여건이 조성되면서 확대되어 온 측면이 크다. 향후 조세개혁은 단순한 제도 변화보다는 비효율의 다양한 원천을 줄이는 방식에 초점을 둘 필요가 있다. 개인소득세율과 법인소득세율의 지나친 격차 해소, 금융발전을 저해할 수 있는 조세의 정비, 조세정보의 효율적 확보와 사용을 위한 제도 정비 및 정부 당국 간의 협력체계 구축, 비공식 부문 활동의 이득을 줄일 수 있는 장치 개발, 국제자본이동에 따른 조세회피 압력 완화 등이 조세지출을 줄이고 세율을 낮추는 전통적 제안 못지않게 중요한 정책과제이다.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The optimal tax literature argues for a broad-based tax system with no taxes on return to savings and no distortions to the composition of consumption. Tariffs will also be ruled out for a small open economy. However, such conventional recommendations ignore the existence of the in formal economy and evasion in the formal sector. These additional sources of inefficiencies in response to taxes might have played a critical role in shaping the tax structure in developing countries. Given a significant portion of economic activity was non-taxable, Ramsey’s results of differential taxation could be relevant to the tax design in these economies. The tax structure in Korea is very similar to that seen on average in developing countries, which forces a rethinking of the conventional recommendations for future tax reform. While the proposal of ‘rate-cut-base-broadening' is certainly appropriate for many aspects of current tax system, devises to protect the tax base in the face of evasion pressure need to be gradually phased out although they generate efficiency costs in the formal sector. In future tax reforms, Korean government needs to pay more attention to non-conventional sources of inefficiencies such as differences in personal and corporate tax rates, ad hoc methods of taxation in the financial sector, lack of in formation sharing among tax-related authorities, and the existence of the informal sector.

목차 (Table of Contents)

• Ⅰ. 서 론
• Ⅱ. 적정조세이론의 시사점
• Ⅲ. 조세수준의 적정성과 조세구조의 특징
• Ⅳ. 효율비용의 축소: 공식 및 비공식 부문
• Ⅴ. 결 론

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