공적 조직의 준재정활동(quasi-fiscal activities)에 대한 재정법적 검토 -중앙은행과 공기업의 준재정활동에 관하여- (Review based on the Fiscal Laws Regarding Quasi-Fiscal Activities of Public Entity -On the Quasi-Fiscal Activities of Public Enterprises and the Central Bank-)

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 한국외국어대학교 법학연구소
· 수록지 정보 : 외법논집 / 37권 / 2호 / 109 ~ 134페이지
· 저자명 : 최승필

초록

오늘날 국가작용의 범위는 매우 광범위하게 확장되고 있다. 이에 따라 국가의 재정적 부담 역시 커지고 있어 정부는 재정적자의 우려로 인해재정부담이 발생하는 사업에 대해서 이를 회피하려는 경향을 보이고 있다. 그리고 정부로 부터회피된 재정부담적 사업들은 공기업을 통해 수행됨으로서 외견적으로 재정의 건전성은 유지되고있으나, 공기업은 적자운영과 부채의 증가라는또 다른 과제를 안게 되었다. 그리고 이와 유사한 상황은 중앙은행 부문에서도 나타나고 있으며, 중앙은행의 경우, 통화정책과 재정정책의 혼재 및 이로 인한 각 부문간 책임성의 모호라는점이 문제될 수 있다. 최근에는 금융위기 이후시장안정화를 위한 중앙은행의 개입활동이 증가함에 따라 이와 같은 활동이 준재정활동인가에대한 논의가 이슈로 제기되고 있다.
정부가 정책수행을 하는 제반 비용의 조달 및소요를 재정활동이라고 한다. 이는 정부가 행위의 주체로서 활동하는 것으로 회계 기준상 정부의 범위 내에 포함한 모든 조직활동을 포괄한다.
그러나 앞서 언급한 바와 같이 정부가 아닌 비정부 공공기관이 정부가 담당해야 할 정책의 일부를 수행하는 일이 나타나게 되었고 그들 중 일부를 성격에 따라 준재정활동이라고 한다. 준재정활동은 재정관련통계 및 보고서에 미반영되어 있음에 따라 그 규모가 매우 큼에도 불구하고 그실태가 정확히 파악되지 않는다는 점, 정부가 국가채무의 규모를 줄이기 위해 준재정활동 영역으로 비용소요가 큰 사업을 전이시킨다는 점 등이문제로 지적되고 있다. 특히 과거 및 현재 정부의 대규모 국책사업들이 공기업을 통해서 이루어짐에 따라 공기업 부채에 대한 논의는 더욱 시급한 실정이다.

영어초록

The scope of state action is expanding extremely broadly these days. As the fiscal burden of the nation is increasing, the government is attempting to conduct circuitous fiscal activities through non-governmental agents to avoid immediate financial burden. The activities performed by non-governmental agents are called quasi-fiscal activities. The agents mostly discussed relating to quasi-fiscal activities are public enterprises and the central bank. One major issue of quasi-fiscal activities pointed out is the lack of democratic control on governmental activities accompanying finance, evasion of fiscal acts, and underestimation of fiscal deficit. However, despite such issues of quasi-fiscal activities, it is not an exaggeration to say that no legal research on quasi-fiscal activities has been performed in areas of central bank Act or public enterprise Acts of Korea.
The major constitutional basis for quasi-fiscal activities is the regulation and adjustment on national economic activities designated in Clause 2 of Article 119. Central bank and public enterprises have their own individual legal basis. First, regarding central bank, although the independent establishment of monetary policies and enforcement power is guaranteed by the Bank of Korea Act, it also has an aspect of quasi-fiscal activities, such as reversion of earned surplus savings into the national treasury and acquisition of national debt under the Act. Regarding public enterprises, the Korea Electric Power Corporation Act, Korea Gas Corporation Act, Korea Land & Housing Corporation Act, and Korea Water Resources Corporation Act all regulate relatively broad work scopes, and some include works that must be performed as governmental fiscal activities or that practically allow the government to relatively freely perform fiscal activities depending on the interpretation of these acts. Moreover, each individual act has a legal basis allowing to perform tasks entrusted by the government, which shows no issue in the legal form, however, because cost preservation fails to correspond to such activities in reality, it is in fact quasi-fiscal activities that are being performed.
Clearly distinguishing between fiscal activities performed based on fiscal acts and performed quasi-fiscal activities that are not based on such legal basis is extremely difficult. For central banks of major countries, liquidity is supplied through activities of purchasing assets in the financial market or by infinitely purchasing national debt for the stability of the financial market after the global financial crisis. Although this is out of the ordinary work scope of central bank, it is difficult to regard it as a fiscal activity that must be performed through finance. This is because its function overlaps with ultimate role of central bank as the Lender of Last Resort(LOLR). Therefore, there is the room for controversy, and some controversies are continuing.
The quasi-fiscal activities of public enterprises mostly appear in large-scale national policy business and price approval by the government for public enterprises. The performance of large-scale national policy business with political and policy purposes without considering the business value and supply of public service in a cost below the production cost which is performed without any corresponding financial subsidy has the problem of deteriorating management situations of public enterprises that also possess the characteristics of a corporation. Thus, there is a need to determine what exactly the fiscal activities are.
The following four are criteria to use for such determination. First, the purpose of establishment acts as the basis of implementing business, second, relation to fundamental rights and survival considerations,third, continuity of business performance, and fourth, generation of profit and its method. These criteria can also be applied to issues of local public enterprises established by local governments.
When the activities performed by non-governmental agents strongly have the qualities of fiscal activities, the fiscal burden pertaining to such must be attained. Moreover, when such burden forms fiscal deficit, it shall be announced in official materials, and democratic control must be exercised not only in the procedure, but also in the result.
This research will hopefully become a basis for legal research on quasi-fiscal activities in the future,especially contributing to the external extension of legal research on the role and effect of public enterprises.

참고자료

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