The use of foreign currency is sensitive enough to the exchange rate fluctuation. To protect assets and liabilities that vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuation interest rate, taxpayers may use swap derivative financial instrument. Through this instrument, the risk which is caused by the changing of exchange rate can be avoded or minimized. Moreover with hedging, taxpayers will be able create gain from shifting the risk. Therefore hedging through the use of derivative instrument specially swap is an interesting phenomena to determine tax imposition.
Taxpayers may apply kinds of such as swap, interest rate swap or currency swap. An interest rate is an exchange transaction which one party agree to pay the other on a notional principal amount. Whereas a currency swaps provide for the exchange (actual or notional) between the two parties of a fixed amount of one currency for fixed amount of another one.
Income characterization is an important problem in swap transaction. There is tendency from taxpayer to classify the income from swap transaction as an interest income, whereas in fact swap transaction is not borrowing-lending transaction.