論「未來收入」——從美國聯邦破產法角度兼論我國破產體制發展的關鍵下一步

On Future Income: Investigating the Critical Next Step in the Development of Taiwan's Bankruptcy Legal System from the Perspective of the US Bankruptcy Code

觀察我國最近十年法院在消費債務清理條例之實務裁定，不論是在更生程序或是清算程序，法院常以債務人尚有多年的工作能力及「未來收入」為由，駁回債務人之聲請，可知關於「未來收入」之定位，深深影響消費者債務清理條例之運行。此外，在整體破產法體制中，「未來收入」於我國破產法制的發展擁有關鍵地位，所牽動之破產程序、更生程序以及清算程序的相互影響，更是重中之重。所以，本文嘗試透過我國破產法、消費者債務清理條例來釐清「未來收入」之意義，自破產法理論與法院實務兩方面觀察，並輔以外國立法例，探討「未來收入」應如何對應破產法的「不能清償」、消費者債務清理條例的「不能清償之虞」、更生程序的「清算價值保障原則」以及清算程序的「財力計算公式」等重大議題，以提供我國破產法制未來發展的進一步建議。 Practical court rulings regarding the Consumer Debt Clearance Statute in Taiwan for the past decade showed that regardless of rehabilitation or liquidation cases, the court often dismissed the debtor's claim with the reason that the debtors are still capable of work for years and making future income. Therefore, the definition of future income has a substantial influence on the practice of the Consumer Debt Clearance Statute. In the development of Taiwan's overall bankruptcy legal system, future income plays a key role. In particular, the interactions among the resulting bankruptcy, rehabilitation, and liquidation processes exert critical influence. The present study clarified the meaning of future income by using Taiwan's Bankruptcy Act and the Consumer Debt Clearance Statute. From the theoretical and practical perspectives and with reference to the US Bankruptcy Code, the author investigated how future income should be used to tackle prominent topics such as insolvency in the Bankruptcy Act, possibility of insolvency in the Consumer Debt Clearance Statute, the best interest rule in the rehabilitation process, and the means test in the liquidation process. The results can serve as a reference for the future development of bankruptcy legal system in Taiwan.