Research on problems and improvement measures related to the income tax system for artists

This study examines the income tax system, which has the greatest influence on artistic activities but has been relatively under-discussed, and examines whether the current income tax system reflects the characteristics of artists' activities well and whether there are any disadvantages to artists. For this, the study compared and analyzed the current income tax system and the characteristics of artists' work through the National Tax Service's “National Tax Statistics Yearbook” and “2022 Attributable Expense Rate Notice” and various literature studies. The results of the study showed that the characteristics of artists' work, which generate a large amount of income temporarily after artistic works produced over a long period of preparation, increase the tax burden within the progressive tax rate system. In addition, the expense rate for the arts professions is mostly set appropriately, but it was found that actors and singers were set lower than other workers. In addition, many artists have very few income deduction, so they have a higher tax burden than other workers. To solve these problems, Australia, Spain, and Ireland have introduced an income averaging for special professionals with high income volatility, and Korea can also consider introducing it in the perspective of tax equity. In addition, it is necessary to reset the reasonable expense rate for actors and singers who actually incur a lot of expenses for their jobs. In addition, as the risk of tax concealment and tax evasion has decreased due to recent advancement of tax tracking systems, it is necessary to apply the income deduction to artists as well.