跨國公司間股利分配時的雙重課稅防免措施

The Avoidance of Double Taxation on Dividend Distribution among Multinational Corporations

在跨國公司間分配股利時，經常會面臨雙重課稅的問題。首先是境外子公司將盈餘分配回國內母公司時，會先就國內母公司的股利所得扣繳稅捐，嗣後再由國內母公司就該筆股利所得課徵公司所得稅，此種跨國間的「法律上雙重課稅」，通常可藉由租稅協定予以化解；其次則是境外子公司已在國外課徵一次公司所得稅，於盈餘分配後，國內母公司又再就同一筆所得課徵一次公司所得稅，此種跨國間的「經濟上雙重負擔」，卻未必在租稅協定中予以消弭。因而，對於母公司所在國（特別是我國）而言，就必須決定，是否有必要在其內國法中，針對跨國間的「經濟上雙重負擔」，給予適度緩解或甚至澈底消除？為釐清上述問題，本文以下將從跨境交易的「稅捐中立原則」，具體檢視我國現行法規及租稅協定中的稅額扣抵制度；並針對德國法、美國法及其他重要國家的發展趨勢進行分析，以探究當前國際間普遍從「間接稅額扣抵法」走向「國外所得免稅法」背後的考量因素，同時提出「間接稅額扣抵法」在理論上可能面臨的正當性質疑；此外，本文也將探討OECD 與歐盟的近期發展趨勢，並指出「國外所得免稅法」在適用上應有的幾項限制條件，以供我國未來在立法論上，得以參考借鏡。

Multinational corporations often face issues of double taxation on dividend distribution. Firstly, when the foreign subsidiary distributes it’s profits to the domestic parent company, it will first withhold tax on the dividend income of the domestic parent company, and then pay corporate income tax on that dividend. Such “juridical double taxation” across different countries can usually be resolved through tax treaties. Secondly, corporate profits may be taxed first when earned by the foreign subsidiary (corporation tax) and again when the profits are distributed to the domestic parent company for the same income. Such international “economic double taxation” may not be eliminated through tax treaties. Therefore, for the country where the parent company is situated (especially our country), it is necessary to determine if moderate relief measures or total elimination of the international “economic double taxation shall be granted in domestic law? To clarify the above issues, this study reviews the current domestic laws and regulations as well as the tax credit system in tax treaties from the “Principle of Tax Neutrality” for international transactions. Also, analysis is conducted aiming at the development trends of German law, American Law and other important countries to explore the considerations behind the current international transition from the “indirect tax credit method” to the “foreign income tax exemption method.” At the same time, legitimacy questions regarding the proposal of the “indirect tax credit method” that may be encountered are also included. In addition, this study also discusses the recent development trends of the OECD and the EU, while some restrictions on the application of “foreign income tax exemption method” are also indicated as references for future legislation in our country.