The General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) in the Individual Income Tax Law: Application Challenges and Optimization Strategies under the Codification of Tax Law

个税法一般反避税条款的适用挑战与税法法典化背景下的优化策略

The General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) in the Individual Income Tax Law plays a crucial role in addressing increasingly complex tax avoidance behaviors, ensuring tax fairness, and maintaining the stability of the national tax base. However, its application faces three major challenges: first, the ambiguous boundaries of the concept of “reasonable business purpose,” leading to uncertainty in legal application; second, the rule’s limited scope, which primarily targets commercial activities, making it ineffective in regulating tax avoidance in non-commercial fields; and third, the excessive discretionary power of administrative authorities in interpretation and application, potentially resulting in the expansion of tax administrative power. Against the backdrop of the accelerated codification of tax law, optimization can be achieved through two key approaches. First, the identification criteria for “reasonable business purpose” should be refined, applying empirical principles to enhance legal certainty, and expanding the rule’s applicability to cover tax avoidance in non-commercial areas. Second, institutional constraints should be strengthened by regulating administrative interpretations and establishing a tax court to effectively curb the expansion of administrative power and ensure fair protection of taxpayers' rights. The optimization of the GAAR in the Individual Income Tax Law aims to enhance the fairness and operability of the tax legal system, ultimately achieving a balance between state tax authority and individual property rights.

个税法中的一般反避税条款在应对日益复杂的个人避税行为、维护税收公平与国家税基稳定方面发挥着重要作用。然而，其适用过程中仍面临三重挑战：一是“合理商业目的”概念边界模糊，导致法律适用的不确定性；二是规制范围局限于商事领域，难以有效覆盖非商事领域的避税行为；三是行政机关在解释与适用上的自由裁量权过大，可能引发税收行政权的扩张。在税法法典化进程加速的背景下，可以从以下两方面进行优化：一是通过细化“合理商业目的”的认定标准，运用经验法则增强法律适用的确定性，并扩大条款适用范围，以涵盖非商事领域的避税行为；二是强化制度约束，规范税收行政解释，并设立税务法院，以有效控制行政权力的扩张，确保纳税人权利的公平保护。个税法中的一般反避税条款优化，是为了提升税收法律体系的公正性与可操作性，最终实现国家税权与个人财产权的双平衡。