재정분권과 신화: 지방소비세 도입과 확대를 중심으로

Previous governments of Korea have continuously pursued fiscal decentralization without exception by strengthening local consumption tax. Theoretically, however, fiscal decentralization rests on whether local governments have the authority to determine local tax items and their rates so that their citizens have the final say to taxes and expenditures without the intervention of the central government. Strengthened local consumption tax, however, has critical limitations from the perspective of fiscal decentralization theories. According to the second generation theories of fiscal federalism, fiscal decentralization is not so much wild flowers as orchids, in that it succeeds only when intricate conditions are fulfilled, which is not the case for fiscal decentralization of Korea. Focusing upon the local consumption tax, this research emphasizes that the efforts of the previous governments of Korea did not hit the bull’s eye, thus failed to reap the intended benefits such as strengthening democracy or efficiency.