Abstract:
The royalty gained from the use of rights under the Franchise Contract can be regarded as sources of income, which are taxable under the Revenue Code. Organizing the collection of income tax relating to the royalty under the Franchise Contract can be uncertain since the meaning of the term royalty is unclear and ambiguity. This is because the purposes of tax collection can be different and this can cause the problems as well as becoming obstacles to the collection of income tax in several cases. For instance, the current approach on the determination of the scope of the taxable income resulting from royalty under the Franchise Contract is inconsistent with the concept of the income tax collection, which provides that such collection of tax should be based on the increase of actual income of the taxable person. Under the Revenue Code, the provision is based primarily on a cash basis and accrual basis together with the consideration of the amount of assessable income that meet the criteria provided by the law, which must be strictly interpreted and construed in accordance with section 39 of the Revenue Code. The main issue is to consider whether the income generated from royalty under the Franchise Agreement can be regarded as income from other royalties under section 40(3) of the Revenue Code. The core element of the Franchise Agreement is normally based on the use of intellectual property and thus, the term other royalties and its scope should be defined in the direction which is consistent with the concept of exclusive rights in the intellectual property law. The classification of income from various assistances in relation to the use of rights under the Franchise Contract and the income gained from royalty in which franchisee must pay to the franchiser can probably be considered as royalty or it may not be regarded as royalty. In order to determine this, it must consider the following factors: the content of the contract which create the income; the actual intent of the parties to the contract; the circumstances and the practices of the parties. The deductible expenses for the income generated from royalty under the Franchise Contracts in accordance with the Revenue Code may not reflect the actual cost or actual expense in establishing franchise business. This is because in order to gain the experience or create the successful franchise business, it may require large amount of sum or expenses. This problem can be solved by allowing a deduction of expenses or cost for royalty gained under the Franchise Contracts as necessary and appropriate