JEJU, Jan. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — Starting this year, foreigners in Jeju will be subject to heavy taxation if they use condominiums that they have purchased as vacation homes. Jeju Province announced on Wednesday that condominiums acquired by foreigners, unless proven as primary residences, will be regarded as private vacation homes, and will be subject [...]
BEIJING, Nov. 20 (Korea Bizwire) — Tax authorities could do more to realise the full potential of new technology to reduce the tax compliance burdens on taxpayers, according to the 2019 edition of the annual Paying Taxes report, produced by PwC and The World Bank Group. The report, released today in Beijing, has found that [...]
SEJONG, Oct. 18 (Korea Bizwire) – The amount of money inherited by grandchildren, skipping a generation, has nearly doubled over the past five years despite higher taxes, records showed Thursday. Some 1.48 trillion won (US$1.31 billion) worth of wealth was transferred to grandchildren from grandparents in 8,388 cases last year, according to the tally provided [...]
SEJONG, Sept. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – The total amount of money that South Koreans deposited in overseas financial accounts increased in 2018 from a year earlier as authorities push forward efforts to identify hidden assets abroad, the tax office said Thursday. A total of 1,287 companies and individuals reported overseas accounts this year, up [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 31 (Korea Bizwire) — The central government has announced the general direction of the tax system reform set to be implemented next year. For the first time in ten years, taxes will be lowered for many, while the wealthier portion of the population will end up paying more in taxes. According to the [...]
SEOUL, Jul. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — A tax imposed on new car owners known as the special consumption tax will be lowered temporarily until the end of the year starting with car purchases made today. For example, consumers who buy a mid-sized sedan for 20 million won will be paying 430,000 won less tax due [...]
SEOUL, March 8 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea’s top tax official vowed Thursday to minimize probes of small and medium-sized enterprises as the government is pushing to level the playing field for smaller firms in a country dominated by conglomerates. Han Seung-hee, commissioner of the National Tax Service, also offered to exclude startups and small companies that create new jobs from tax audits. “We will concentrate our capacity on supporting voluntary tax filing, while minimizing inspections [...]
SEOUL, Dec. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s smoking rate will likely drop this year, as sales of cigarettes have fallen due to a big increase in the price of tobacco in 2015, an official source said Tuesday. Citing the need to discourage smoking, the government increased taxes on cigarettes by 2,000 won (US$1.70) per [...]
SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — The government’s anti-smoking campaign, funded partly by increased revenue from a cigarette price hike, has not been effective, officials said Friday. Monthly cigarette sales in January 2015, when the price of cigarettes was raised 80 percent from 2,500 won (US$2.21) to 4,500 won, were 295 million packs. Currently, monthly [...]
SEOUL, Apr. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea’s tax burden, which has steadily risen over the years, still remains among the lowest among the group of developed market economies with high income, data showed Sunday. Data by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) showed that the tax burden ratio of Asia’s fourth-largest [...]