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Manticore
Joined: 20 Nov 2007
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 Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 12:04 am Post subject: Tax % for a South African? |
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Not sure how much tax I should be paying. At the moment it is 5% but I was told by another teacher that is high, and it is normally 1.5~3% depending.
I have the standard 2.1mil 30hr/wk hagwon contract.
Anyone in the know? |
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Otherside
Joined: 06 Sep 2007
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 12:09 am Post subject: |
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Tax is the same REGARDLESS of where you're from.
Working for a public school entitles you to a tax break of two years (Canadians excepted).
Working for a Hagwon, and earning 2.1mill you should be paying W35560/month in tax. That works out to 1.69%.
Tax is on a sliding scale, if you are working overtime the rate would increase. For interest's sake, you would need to be earning W3.2mill/month to be paying 5% tax. |
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ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
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| Posted: Wed Jun 25, 2008 2:06 am Post subject: Re: Tax % for a South African? |
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| Manticore wrote: |
Not sure how much tax I should be paying. At the moment it is 5% but I was told by another teacher that is high, and it is normally 1.5~3% depending.
I have the standard 2.1mil 30hr/wk hagwon contract.
Anyone in the know? |
Sucks to be you and your boss is a thief.
The tax is the same for everyone:
http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/help/help_52.asp?top_code=H001&sub_code=HS05&ssub_code=HSE2
Input 2100 for a salary of 2.1 million won.
and South Africans are exempt from paying into the national pension.
Medical is 2.54% of your salary.
So if you include medical (and you have the NHIC booklet) your total should be about 4%.
If you don't have medical, time to call the tax man and file a FORMAL complaint against your boss. Information on the tax website:
http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/help/help_21.asp?top_code=H001&sub_code=HS02&ssub_code=HSB1
. |
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Manticore
Joined: 20 Nov 2007
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 1:37 am Post subject: |
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I'm not on medical. Asked my boss about tax and medical sternly, and he said he'd get the application forms for medical,
He claims tax hasn't changed from 5% in six years so I'm gona use the link to the tax site to push it in his face. |
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Zaria32
Joined: 04 Dec 2007
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 4:52 am Post subject: |
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Everyone assumes that if a school - hogwon or public - witholds more than the actual tax rate from the tables of from the calculator, that the school is pocketing the overage. Of course, this is very often the case, probably more often than not, by a wide margin.
But in my first year in Korea I ran into the problem of the hogwon association expectations...different for each association of course. But where I was, in order for a hogwon to join the hogwon association, they had to use the association contract...which called for 3.3% tax withholding, or higher, at "the discretion" of the school. The contract had to make no mention of pension, and schools were told that when they gave permission for the teacher to teach at another institution, that the visa sponsoring school would be entitled to keep all earnings from the 2nd job over and above the contract "overtime" rate, as a second job is "overtime."[/list] |
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Whistleblower
Joined: 03 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Tue Jul 01, 2008 6:56 am Post subject: |
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How long have you been employed with the school? I would recommend that you visit the Tax Office and find out whether you are registered at the school. Take your passport, ARC ID, employment contract, pay slips and the school's address so that you have everything at hand. Ask them how tax should be withdrawn from your pay and how much has been contributed. You will be able to find out if the boss has been pocketing your hard earned cash. More than likely he has and the Tax Office will phone him up if he hasn't been contributing to tax and pension for you.
Finally, if there is nothing left to do contact the Labor Board for help.
Good luck. Name and shame your school now. |
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Manticore
Joined: 20 Nov 2007
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| Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 3:11 am Post subject: |
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Whistleblower,
If you want the background to my situation, check it out here: http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=121720&highlight=harwon
Been with the school since April. I'm not gona do anything rash like phoning the tax authorities or Labor Board yet. The final risk for me might be having to get a new job and visa, and to go home to do that (9 month rule - can't transfer visa is less than 9 months spent in Korea).
Not worth it right now. |
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Manticore
Joined: 20 Nov 2007
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:11 pm Post subject: |
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I've referred my boss to the national tax site and explained to him what I should be paying.
But he maintains it's just a generalized table of tax rules, and that the government tell him how much to pay. In my employment contract he put 5%.
Any ideas on how I can convince him to see the light (short of taking a crowbar to his forehead)? |
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Whistleblower
Joined: 03 Feb 2007
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 9:46 pm Post subject: |
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| I still believe you should go and visit the Tax Office and enquire about the tax situation and see if your boss is contributing. |
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shifty
Joined: 21 Jun 2004
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:30 pm Post subject: |
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A couple of years back I was paying 4%. I suggested to my director that I intended to pay a visit to the tax office and he responded with a smirk.
By that time I could read his every thought and saw that he was far from
concerned. I told him further that I was a tax expert, which in my home country was true enough as part of my line of business.
He simply regarded me with a contented purr. He knew something that I didn't, that was plain so I let it go and put it down to experience.
And I'm glad I did, because the bigger issues such as severance and airfare were well disposed of. Knowing him as I did, they would have come under threat if I'd gone to town over the tax. |
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cruisemonkey
Joined: 04 Jul 2005
Location: Hopefully, the same place as my luggage.
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| Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 10:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Zaria32 wrote: |
Everyone assumes that if a school - hogwon or public - witholds more than the actual tax rate from the tables of from the calculator, that the school is pocketing the overage. Of course, this is very often the case, probably more often than not, by a wide margin.
But in my first year in Korea I ran into the problem of the hogwon association expectations...different for each association of course. But where I was, in order for a hogwon to join the hogwon association, they had to use the association contract...which called for 3.3% tax withholding, or higher, at "the discretion" of the school. The contract had to make no mention of pension, and schools were told that when they gave permission for the teacher to teach at another institution, that the visa sponsoring school would be entitled to keep all earnings from the 2nd job over and above the contract "overtime" rate, as a second job is "overtime."[/list] |
WTF?  |
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icicle
Joined: 09 Feb 2007
Location: Gyeonggi do Korea
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| Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:49 am Post subject: |
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| Manticore wrote: |
I'm not on medical. Asked my boss about tax and medical sternly, and he said he'd get the application forms for medical,
He claims tax hasn't changed from 5% in six years so I'm gona use the link to the tax site to push it in his face. |
Another useful document on the NTS website is
Individual Income Tax and Benefit Guide for Foreigners 2008
It is a downloadable document which specifically talks about Income Tax for Foreigners, confirming what other people have said about foreigners being taxed in the same way as other Koreans.
The link to it is:
http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/resources/resour_21.asp?minfoKey=MINF7420080211223143&type=V
(Or click through resources / publications on the website and it is the first document listed).
I personally had the 3% tax rate listed on my contract and talking about this information with my hagwon did get my tax changed to the correct amount for me. (They did say at the time we were talking about it that 3% is the amount which is paid by the Korean English teachers at the school - And that they usually get a big refund at the end of the tax year). I did not approach it as an I think you are trying to rip me off position ... but as a trying to understand things ... eg I read this and it says X. Why is my tax rate Y? An official government publication which explicitely said it was helpful ... and did not destroy what for me is a good working relationship with my school. |
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icicle
Joined: 09 Feb 2007
Location: Gyeonggi do Korea
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| Posted: Sun Jul 06, 2008 3:49 am Post subject: |
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| Manticore wrote: |
I'm not on medical. Asked my boss about tax and medical sternly, and he said he'd get the application forms for medical,
He claims tax hasn't changed from 5% in six years so I'm gona use the link to the tax site to push it in his face. |
Another useful document on the NTS website is
Individual Income Tax and Benefit Guide for Foreigners 2008
It is a downloadable document which specifically talks about Income Tax for Foreigners, confirming what other people have said about foreigners being taxed in the same way as other Koreans.
The link to it is:
http://www.nts.go.kr/eng/resources/resour_21.asp?minfoKey=MINF7420080211223143&type=V
(Or click through resources / publications on the website and it is the first document listed).
I personally had the 3% tax rate listed on my contract and talking about this information with my hagwon did get my tax changed to the correct amount for me. (They did say at the time we were talking about it that 3% is the amount which is paid by the Korean English teachers at the school - And that they usually get a big refund at the end of the tax year). I did not approach it as an I think you are trying to rip me off position ... but as a trying to understand things ... eg I read this and it says X. Why is my tax rate Y? An official government publication which explicitely said it was helpful ... and did not destroy what for me is a good working relationship with my school. |
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Boodleheimer
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Location: working undercover for the Man
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 6:06 am Post subject: |
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| Manticore wrote: |
I've referred my boss to the national tax site and explained to him what I should be paying.
But he maintains it's just a generalized table of tax rules, and that the government tell him how much to pay. In my employment contract he put 5%.
Any ideas on how I can convince him to see the light (short of taking a crowbar to his forehead)? |
is this the same boss you seem to be so loyal to? |
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Manticore
Joined: 20 Nov 2007
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| Posted: Sat Jul 19, 2008 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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| It's the same guy. "Loyalty" is some posters misinterpretation of the situation. I'm not bothering to bicker with them |
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