SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea will double the maximum limit of purchases eligible for an immediate tax refund by foreign tourists to 5 million won (US$3,831) next year to attract overseas visitors and bolster the tourism industry, the finance ministry said Monday. Currently, the country provides on-the-spot tax refunds for an individual [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 10 (Korea Bizwire) – The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a retrial of a case launched by U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. seeking a refund of 634 billion won (US$530 million) in purportedly undue withholding taxes paid in South Korea. The top court sent the case back to the appeals court in Suwon, south of [...]
SEOUL, March 9 (Korea Bizwire) – Foreigners who receive plastic surgery and aesthetic treatment in South Korea will receive a value added tax refund starting next month, the health ministry said Wednesday. The tax rebate will be given at special booths installed in the country’s international airports when foreign patients submit a certificate issued by authorized medical [...]
SEOUL, March 2 (Korea Bizwire) - Chinese tourists in South Korea spent more in the country following the introduction of an on-the-spot tax refund system, local data showed Tuesday. Since February, South Korean department stores offered instant tax refunds to foreign tourists who buy products at local duty-free shops, in line with its efforts to revitalize the tourism industry hurt by [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 25 (Korea Bizwire) - Major foreign brands selling cars in South Korea have decided not to offer any refunds to their customers despite the government’s recent tax cut, claiming that it has already been reflected in their ramped-up sales promotions, company officials said Thursday. The government ended a 1.5-percentage-point excise tax cut at the [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Korea Bizwire) - South Korean department stores will start offering instant tax refund services to foreign customers starting in February as part of an effort to boost sales, market watchers said Sunday. Under the new program, foreigners can buy products without paying the mandatory 10 percent value-added tax (VAT) if the item costs [...]
SEJONG, Nov. 30 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea will offer on-spot tax refunds to foreign tourists who buy products at local duty-free shops starting Jan. 1, the government said Sunday. The Finance Ministry said it is moving to revise existing exemption guidelines governing foreign tourists so they need not pay value-added and excise taxes when they shop in the country. Under the proposed changes, an item costing less than 200,000 won (US$173) [...]
SEOUL/SEJONG, Aug. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea plans to give tax refunds to foreigners who receive plastic surgery here as part of efforts to lure more tourists, whose numbers have plunged following the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, the government said Thursday. The plan is outlined in the government’s 2015 tax code revision, [...]
SEOUL/SEJONG, Apr. 21 (Korea Bizwire) — The government plans to spend nearly 60 percent of this year’s budget in the first half in a bid to put the fizz back into the slowing economy, the finance ministry said Tuesday. The plan comes amid escalating concern that Asia’s fourth-largest economy may grow at a far weaker [...]