规避遗产税的信托行为:否定抑或宽容——写在未来遗产税开征之前

Trust Behavior of the Avoidance of Inheritance Tax:Negating or Tolerating——Writing Before Future Levy of Inheritance Tax

我国尚未开征遗产税。近年来,学术界和实务界要求开征遗产税的呼声越来越高。随着民众财富的增加和贫富差距的加大,可以预见,我国将来定会出台遗产税。人具有趋利避害的属性,遗产税一旦开征,民众就会通过各种方式避免或减少缴纳遗产税。信托具有特殊的财产权利结构,在避税方面有着天然的功能和优势,因此通过设立信托规避遗产税可能较为普遍。对于这种规避行为,不能简单地给予否定评价。从信托的固有品格、"目的违法"认定的可操作性、国外的主流立场、我国民事信托不发达的现实、避税与逃税在本质上的差异等综合考虑,应对设立信托规避遗产税的行为宽容对待。

There is no inheritance tax in China at present. In recent years,the call for lev- ying inheritance tax in the academic circles and the practical realm are increasing. With the increase in public wealth and the gap between the rich and the poor, it forecasts that China will introduce inheritance tax. The individuals are featured by a disposition of seeking profits and avoiding losses; as soon as inheritance tax is levied, people will avoid paying or underpa- ying inheritance tax through a variety of ways. The trust has a special structure of property rights,and has natural function and advantage in terms of tax avoidance, so it may be more common to avoid inheritance tax by creating a trust. For this avoidance behavior, it is not proper to simply give a negative evaluation. Taking comprehensive account of factors such as inherent characteristics of the trust, the operability of the recognition of illegality by illegal purposes, foreign mainstream stance, underdeveloped reality of our civil trust, and the essen- tial difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion,we should treat tolerantly the behavior of tax avoidance through the establishment of trust.