Research On The Definition Of The Applicable Scope Of Stamp Tax In China

Stamp Tax originated in the Netherlands in the 17 th century.Its characteristics such as light use,broad tax base and stable tax sources make all countries follow suit.During the Qing Dynasty,in order to compensate for the Opium tax,China began to impose Stamp Tax.In the Republic of China,in order to compensate for the war deficit and raise financial funds,Stamp Tax changed from good tax to excessive tax.After liberation,Stamp Tax declined from prosperity and tax items were repeatedly simplified.Eventually,Stamp Tax was incorporated into the unified industrial and commercial tax,which was no longer levied separately until the promulgation of the Interim Regulation of the People's Republic of China on Stamp Tax in 1988.In the process of historical change,the applicable scope of Stamp Tax has always been the lever to achieve government's goals.Although the tax rate of Stamp Duty is very low,its irreplaceable position has been proved by hundreds of years of history at home and abroad.However,in the 30 years since the resumption of the levy,the Stamp Tax has not attracted much attention from the theoretical circles and practical research.The contents of the five categories and thirteen tax items have not been changed and adjusted,which has led to a huge conflict between the applicable scope and the real economic environment.Realistic conflicts are mainly embodied in three levels: Firstly,the Stamp Tax on securities transactions that should not be included in the scope of Stamp Tax is levied as a common Stamp Tax,which confuses the two concepts.Secondly,there are limitations in the applicable scope because the vouchers that should be included in the applicable scope are not taxed.Thirdly,it is uncertain whether the taxation of overseas contracts falls within the applicable scope of China's Stamp Tax.Although the Stamp Tax Law of the People's Republic of China has improved and perfected the applicable scope to a certain extent,it has not been changed much in general,which is basically consistent with the Interim Regulation and other related provisions.Under the previous research situation of Stamp Tax,deepening the study of basic theory,clarifying and defining the applicable scope of Stamp Tax is the prerequisite for carrying out legislative work and the fundamental premise for carrying out judicial and law enforcement activities.In this paper,the main research content consists of three major issues of the applicable scope of Stamp Tax,including two parts and four chapters.Part I consists of Chapter I,which shows changes of tax elements,functions and Status of Stamp Tax in Different Periods by reviewing the historical evolution of the applicable scope of Stamp Tax.Then it sums up the conflicts in the applicable scope of Taxation from the realistic level,analyses the internal causes of the conflicts,and puts forward that the basic premise of solving the conflicts is to reasonably define the legal definition of the applicable scope.Based on this,explore the methods to define the applicable scope.Firstly,determine the basic value orientation of unification of legal order,including the integration of tax law and contract law,as well as the unification of internal structure of tax law.Secondly,determine the basic concept,that is,the increase of direct tax proportion and the balance between tax fairness and efficiency.Finally,choose the basic method of legal interpretation,that is,starting from the paradigm of legal interpretation,to interpret and analyse the relevant legal norms.Part II is composed of Chapter II,Chapter III and Chapter IV,which respectively discuss the three realistic conflicts existing in the scope of taxation.Chapter II centers on the discrimination between Stamp Tax and Stamp Tax on Securities Exchange.Firstly,by analyzing the differences between the two taxes in terms of taxpayers and objects,it is shown that the so-called Stamp Tax on Securities Exchange is not a special stamp tax,but should be named as Securities Transaction Tax with the nature of turnover tax.Secondly,analyse the reasons why the two taxes have been confused for a long time,including the deviation of nature definition and function orientation,as well as the lag of Stamp Tax on Securities Exchange legislation.Finally,it explores the way to clear up the boundaries of the two taxes.Its theoretical premise is to affirm the necessity of the existence of both taxes at the same time.On this basis,by drawing on the legislative situation of other countries and regions,put forward the idea of setting up Securities Transaction Tax separately.Chapter III focuses on the expansion of the applicable scope.By comparing the similarities and differences between the Stamp Tax Law and the Interim Regulation in terms of taxation items,it shows that the enactment of the Stamp Tax Law has not made a difference on both types and forms of the applicable scope.Secondly,it analyses the reasons for the limitation of the applicable scope,including the lag of the legislation of the Contract Law,legislative ways of positive enumeration,and the loopholes of taxation caused by the way of taxation.Finally,explore the way to expand the applicable scope on the basis of the principle of tax fairness from the perspective of theory and legislative practice.On the one hand,reconstruct the legislative system,adopt a general legislative approach,and clarify the tax payment requirements of certificates in the form of electronic contracts.On the other hand,improve the methods of tax collection of Stamp Tax,enhance tax consciousness of taxpayers,strengthen compliance governance of them,and at the same time strengthen the supervision of tax collection to curb the loss of tax sources.Chapter IV focuses on the taxation of overseas contracts.First of all,illustrate that the taxation of Stamp Tax on overseas contracts involves the problem of legally duplicated taxation by elaborating on the establishment and conflicts of tax jurisdiction.However,there is no final conclusion on the applicable jurisdictional principle of Stamp Tax and on how to resolve the conflict of tax jurisdiction.Then,starting from the existing provisions,analyse whether overseas contracts fall within the applicable scope from the following three aspects: The first point is the interpretation of contracts concluded abroad.falls within the scope of stamp tax only in accordance with the legal system of our country.Only in accordance with the legal system of our country,the certificate with legal effect belongs to the applicable scope.The second point is the substantive criterion for defining the scope of overseas contracts,which refers to the economic effect of contracts.If the constituent elements of a contract signed abroad,such as the subject matter,rights and obligations,are somewhat economically related to the domestic legal relationship,the contract shall be taxed domestically.The third point is the judgment of the time when tax debts are established.Based on the theory of "the moment when constituent elements are realized",unlike domestic contracts,domestic tax obligations do not occur when the contracts are signed and entered into force abroad.When the contract is brought into China and used domestically,it produces economic facts and meets the requirements of Stamp Tax,then the contract belongs to the applicable scope of Stamp Tax in China,at this time the abstract tax debt is formed.When the taxpayer completes the tax declaration,the amount of tax payable,the time and place of tax payment are finally determined,and the specific tax debt is formed.