綜合所得稅課稅單位及裁處之研究―以司法院釋字第696號解釋為中心

司法院在101年1月20日公布釋字第696號解釋，宣告78年12月30日修正公布之所得稅法第15條第1項規定：「納稅義務人之配偶，及合於第17條規定得申報減除扶養親屬免稅額之受扶養親屬，有前條各類所得者，應由納稅義務人合併報繳。」其中有關夫妻非薪資所得強制合併計算，較之單獨計算稅額，增加其稅負部分，違反憲法第7條平等原則，應自本解釋公布之日起至遲於屆滿2年時失其效力。所得稅法第15條遲至104年1月21日公布，修正內容除增列納稅義務人與配偶分居，規定修正後所得稅法第15條自103年1月1日起適用，修正內容增列納稅義務人與配偶分居，得選擇各自辦理結算申報及計算稅額的規定，另增訂綜合所得稅結算申報得由納稅義務人或其配偶就各類所得分開計算稅額。本文對目前合併申報制下爭議加以討論，並蒐集司法院釋字第696號解釋後相關判決，加以整理分析，來處理修正後所得稅法第15條公佈前納稅義務人納稅義務人違反所得稅法第15條規定，應如何裁罰，修正後所得稅法是否以解決存在於我國夫妻課稅的基本問題，是否仍有維持家戶申報制必要，另司法院釋字第696號解釋後，稅捐稽徵機關對納稅義務人違反家戶申報規定予以裁處是否妥當，予以提出建議。

關鍵字

司法院釋字第696號解釋；課稅單位；合併申報制；家戶申報制

並列摘要

On January 20, 2012, the Judicial Yuan announced J.Y. Interpretation No. 696, which states that Article 15, Paragraph 1 of the Income Tax Act, as amended on December 30, 1989, provides that “where the spouse of a taxpayer and/or a dependent whose support deduction may be made in accordance with Article 17 of this Act has any income as provided in the preceding Article, the taxpayer shall include such income in his/her income tax return.” If a taxpayer’s liability, as computed in conjunction with the non-salary income of his/her spouse, exceeds the amount payable if it were separately computed, thereby increasing his/her taxation, the situation would be contrary to the principle of equality as provided by Article 7 of the Constitution of the ROC. The said provision shall cease to apply no later than two years after this Interpretation is announced. Article 15 of the Income Tax Act was amended on January 21, 2015, to include provisions for taxpayers who have separated from their spouses. The amended Income Tax Act has been effective from January 1, 2014, and provides that a taxpayer who has separated from his/her spouse shall file tax returns and compute his/her tax liability separately. Furthermore, it provides that the tax liability arising from any income in a jointly filed income tax return shall be computed separately by the taxpayer or his/her spouse. This paper discusses the controversy over the current joint tax filing system. Relevant judgments after the announcement of J.Y. Interpretation No. 696 are compiled to analyze how penalties are imposed on taxpayers who were in violation of Article 15 of the Income Tax Act before the amendments came into effect. It also discusses whether the amended Income Tax Act solves the fundamental taxation problem that exists for married couples in the ROC, and the necessity of maintaining the household tax filing system. Finally, this paper provides suggestions on whether it is appropriate for tax authorities to penalize taxpayers who violate the regulations for household tax filing after the announcement of J.Y. Interpretation No. 696.