OECD國家公司所得稅稅率發展趨勢與對我國之啟示

Lessons from the Trend of Corporate Income Tax Rates in OECD Countries

OECD國家自1980年代起，競相調降公司所得稅稅率。調降理由係因所得稅對經濟成長及工作意願衝擊較大，須適度予以降低。調降之政策效益包括：提高稅制競爭力、吸引國內外企業投資、減少公司租稅規避活動、提高國外盈餘匯回國內投資之願意等。由於OECD國家於調降公司所得稅稅率之同時，也同步採行擴大稅基及適度提高加值稅稅率等配套措施，作為稅制結構調整之主軸，故OECD國家調降公司所得稅稅率後，公司所得稅稅收占GDP比重及占總稅收比重，均呈增加趨勢。與OECD國家相較，我國營所稅稅率長期僵化，無法及時彈性調整，以因應瞬息萬變的國際競爭環境。為配合國際稅制改革趨勢，因應全球化與國際經濟競爭，我國實有必要進行營利事業所得稅改革，調降營所稅稅率。

OECD countries have carried out competitive reduction of corporate income tax rates since the 1980s. The purpose of the reductions has been to lower the detrimental impact of income tax on economic growth and willingness to work. The expected benefits of reduction include making the tax system more competitive, spurring domestic and foreign business investment, reducing tax avoidance, and inducing the repatriation of offshore profits for domestic investment. Since the reductions have been accompanied by measures to broaden the tax base and raise VAT to an appropriate extent, corporate tax revenues as ratios of GDP and total tax revenues in those countries have uniformly shown an upward trend. Compared to OECD countries, corporate income tax rates in Taiwan have long been rigidified and could not be adjusted in a timely and flexible manner in response to the constant changes in global competition. To keep up with the international trend of tax reform, and to cope with the competition of globalization and the international economy, it is necessary to reform Taiwan’s corporate income tax, especially in lowering the tax rate.