元宇宙经济课征所得税的理论基础与实践进路

The theoretical basis and practical approach of incometax levied on the metaverse economy

元宇宙经济是一种深度创新的数字经济,其能够满足人们日益增长的精神需求,是经济社会发展的新动能。在元宇宙中生产、交易数字产品能够给权利主体带来客观的经济利益。我国现行所得税法没有对元宇宙中虚拟化身或虚拟实体的税法地位和数字产品交易收入进行规制,这会导致国家税源的流失,不利于数字资产的优化配置和数字公平的实现。为引领元宇宙健康发展,在构建及完善我国元宇宙收益所得税制时,由于源自元宇宙数字产品生产和交易的收益具有经济上和法律上的可税性,应当对该收益征收所得税;应穿透虚拟化身或虚拟实体,对其背后的真实权利主体征税;所得税法应将数字产品转让所得和许可使用所得分别纳入“转让财产所得”和“特许权使用费所得”来课税。

The metaverse economy is a kind of deeply innovative digital economy,which can meet people’s growing spiritual needs and is a new driving force for economic and social development.Creating and exchanging digital products in the metaverse can generate economic gains.China’s income tax laws do not regulate the tax status of virtual avatars or virtual entities in the metaverse and the income of digital products,which can cause the loss of national revenue and unfairness of digital economy.In order to lead the healthy development of the metaverse,when building and improving the income tax system for the income of the metaverse in China,the income derived from the creating and trading of digital products in the metaverse should be taxed and the real subjects should be levied.Digital products based on blockchain technology are basically consistent with the attributes of property,and income from the transfer of digital products should be included in the“income from transfer of property”.The income tax laws should include the income from the transfer of digital products and the income from licensing them into the taxation of“income from the transfer of property”and“income from royalties”respectively.