欧洲增值税法中抵扣的“经营目的审查”及其借鉴

The“Business Purpose Test”of VAT Input Credit in Europe and Its Implications in China

“经营目的审查”是判断企业支出是否符合经营目的、进而判断支出所含增值税税款能否获得抵扣的方法。若企业支出符合经营目的,则所含增值税可抵扣相关销项税,减轻纳税人的纳税义务。欧洲增值税法将“经营目的审查”确认为抵扣的一般标准,承认其对抵扣限制的限制功能,并通过司法实践,发展出考量纳税人主观意图与客观课税事实的具体规则。我国增值税制度既缺乏抵扣的一般标准,又简单否认易被滥用的支出抵扣资格,容易导致纳税人权益受损。因此,有必要借鉴“经营目的审查”的理念与规则进行调整。

The “Business purpose test” is a method of judging whether a corporate expenditure is carried out for a business purpose, and then determining whether the VAT included in the expenditure is deductible. If a corporate expenditure is carried out for a business purpose, VAT included can be deducted from the related output tax and reduce the taxpayer's tax liability. The VAT in Europe identifies the “Business purpose test” as a general standard for input credit, recognizes its restraining function on the limits of input credit, and develops the specific rules to consider both taxpayers' subjective intentions and objective taxing facts through relatively abundant judicial practice. China's VAT system lacks the general standard of input credit and simply denies the deduction of inputs that can easily be abused, which could easily damage the taxpayers' rights. It is necessary to use the concept and rules of the “business purpose test” to adjust current Chinese VAT rules.