English to Spanish: Individual Income Tax Detailed field: Law: Taxation & Customs |
Source text - English I Introduction
This chapter addresses the design and drafting of the income tax law for individuals.1 The discussion covers the structure of the income tax, the definition of the tax base, the tax unit (i.e., identification of the taxpayer), the tax rate structure, and the administrative and collection aspects of personal income taxation. The discussion of the tax base in this chapter focuses particularly on employment income, including fringe benefits. The taxation of business and investment income is dealt with in chapter 16.
II. General Design
A. Schedular Versus Global Income Taxes
Two theoretical models exist for the structure of the personal income tax—schedular and global. A schedular income tax is one in which separate taxes are imposed on different categories of income. A global income tax is one in which a single tax is imposed on all income, whatever its nature.
In the benchmark schedular system, gross income and deductible expenses are determined separately for each type of income; in some cases, limited deductions or no deductions may be allowed. The rates of tax applicable to each category of income are then applied to the taxable amount of the income. The rates of tax may vary from category to
category. Different procedures may apply to each category of income for the reporting, assessment, and collection of tax. Some types of income may be taxable only through withholding; others may involve the filing of returns. Schedular systems used to be more widespread; a few countries still have such a system, or one with substantial schedular elements.
In the benchmark global system, there is no matching of particular types of income to the expenses incurred to derive the income. All income and expenses are considered together to arrive at a single net gain that is subject to tax. Thus, under a pure global system, the category of income is irrelevant.
Between pure schedular and pure global taxation, there are many possibilities. One of these has been called "composite," under which a global-type system is superimposed on a set of schedular taxes. This approach involves combining some or most types of income for the
purpose of imposing a progressive rate surcharge on top of the flat rates commonly imposed on the schedularized categories of income, as well as for the purpose of providing personal tax relief for family costs.
Many tax policy theoreticians consider the global income tax to be superior to the schedular system. It is commonly suggested that schedular taxation suffers from the following disadvantages:
(1) The separation of an individual's income into more than one tax regime may make | Translation - Spanish I. Introducción
Este capítulo trata sobre el diseño y redacción de la ley de impuesto a la renta para personas naturales. Los temas a tratar cubren la estructura del impuesto a la renta, la definición de la base imponible, la unidad tributaria (por ej. la identificación del contribuyente), la estructura de las tasas impositivas, y sus aspectos administrativos y recaudatorios. En este capítulo, el tratamiento de la base imponible se centra prinicipalmente en las rentas del trabajo, incluyendo los beneficios complementarios. La tributación de empresas e inversiones se tratará en el capítulo 16.
II. Diseño General
A. Impuesto a la Renta Cedular versus Global
Existen dos modelos teóricos para la estructura del impuesto a la renta personal: cedular y global. Un impuesto a la renta cedular es aquel en el cual diferentes impuestos son aplicados sobre diferentes categorías de rentas. Un impuesto a la renta global consiste en un impuesto único que grava todos los ingresos, cualquiera sea su origen.
En el sistema cedular, los ingresos brutos y gastos deducibles son determinados separadamente para cada tipo de renta; en algunos casos se puede permitir la existencia de deducciones con ciertos límites. Las tasas de impuesto que gravan cada categoría de ingresos son entonces aplicadas al monto imponible de cada renta. Las tasas pueden variar dependiendo de la categoría. |