我國營利事業所得稅的租稅主體—營利事業,其涵蓋範圍有別於比較法上常見之針對法人(或其他)課徵的法人稅,尚包括獨資、合夥等個人營業型態;從而,也打開了個人非以商業登記法上獨資或合夥的型態從事營業時,在怎樣的條件下可以被認定為營利事業的潘朵拉之盒。 在我國實務上,自早期即有發布函釋規定,從事諸如合建分售等經濟活動的個人,在何等條件下,應為營業登記、課徵營業稅的規定;然而,自民國90年代起,開始出現即使不合乎函釋的規定,從事合建分售的個人依然被視為營利事業的情形。 本文的研究,將始於合建分售案件中,個人被視為營利事業,將造成其租稅待遇上何種差異、判決認定符合什麼條件的個人應被視為營利事業,以及實務及學說面對所得稅法第11條第2項的規定,如何去正當化判決中的作法。實務及學說分別以實質課稅原則與類型化概念作為正當化判決中作法的理據。本文分別檢視這兩種正當化的論述的結果,認為這兩種正當化的論理都有其不足之處,因此,必須要進一步檢視即使營利事業作為類型化概念,其類型特徵為何的問題。本文認為,營利事業的類型特徵必須緊扣其所具有的獨立租稅負擔能力,也因此,本文所認定的營利事業的類型特徵,非常不同於目前學說上的看法,應用在具體案例上,也會得出與目前實務見解完全不同的結論。
The tax subject of income tax on profit- seeking enterprise, profit- seeking enterprises, which is different from corporations, which is the usual object to be imposed additional tax in many other country, contain personal business as sole proprietor or partnership; therefore, a Pandora’s box of what conditions, under which individuals doing business without the configuration of sole proprietor or partnership under Business Registration Act could be regard as profit- seeking enterprise. In practice, there are Administrative Rule to proscribe under what conditions should individuals taking economic activities like joint construction and separate sales register as business entity and and pay business tax since long time ago; however, after the beginning of 21st century, individuals taking part in joint construction and separate sales would be regard as profit- seeking enterprise, even if above conditions was not fulfilled. This article will start from the difference of tax treatment which is caused by that individuals be regard as profit- seeking enterprises, the conditions under which individuals should be regard as profit- seeking enterprises, and the justification made by courts and scholars in order to dealing with the principle of taxation by law. Courts and scholars separately made different justifications, which will examined separately in this article as well. As both justification have its own shortcoming, especially can’t respond the demand of Leistungsfähigkeitprinzip, this article will propose an alternative set of elements of profit- seeking enterprises.