Whistleblower
Joined: 03 Feb 2007
|
 Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 7:14 pm Post subject: Korean Tax Consultation Service for Foreigners Expanded |
 |
|
So the NTS will be offering support for foreigners residing in Korea. Hopefully this would enable us to communicate about the illegalities of companies registering foreigners as independent contractors. Some improvement for foreigners. Opinions?
| Quote: |
Tax Consultation Service for Foreigners Expanded
By Yoon Ja-young
Staff Reporter
Foreigners can get tax consultation services from English-speaking tax agents at 30 tax offices around the country. The National Tax Service (NTS) said Tuesday it expanded English tax consultation services, which has been provided at 10 tax offices since February, to 30 tax offices from this month.
According to the tax agency, the number of foreign taxpayers is surging. A total of 287,075 foreigners filed year-end tax settlements in 2007, up 168 percent from 2001. They filed 224.2 billion won in taxes, up 55 percent from six years ago.
Foreign workers in Korea are paying taxes just like Koreans, but they often forget that resident foreign employees are allowed tax deductions for their dependent family members or for donations. They can also register for the Cash Receipt System for tax deduction but few foreign taxpayers do. The tax code, which is very complicated for Koreans, is even more esoteric for foreigners.
Suh Jin-oog, deputy director in charge of the International Tax Resource Management Division at the NTS, said there are a number of ways for foreign taxpayers to get help. ``We've been operating an NTS English Assistance Hotline at (02) 397-1440 and getting inquiries from foreigners at our English Web site. We expanded the face-to-face consultation service at regional tax offices this time to cover more foreigners,'' he said.
The tax agency has been operating English tax consultation service at 10 tax offices, including Yongsan, Samsung, Seocho, and Yeoksam in Seoul, and Ansan, Mokpo, Gumi and Changwon. The consultation service will be available at 30 tax offices around the country from this month, including Gangnam, Guro, Geumcheon, Namdaemun, Jongro and Songpa in Seoul. ``Around two thirds of foreign taxpayers' inquiries are expected to be covered by the English-speaking agents in 30 tax offices,'' Suh said.
The tax agency has also published a ``Foreign Taxpayers' Guide to Korean Taxes,'' its first English-language collection of the most frequently asked questions and their answers, ranging from year-end tax settlement on wages and calculation of taxable income to tax payment procedures and business registration. It can be reached at the NTS English Website, www.nts.go.kr/eng, by clicking ``Resources,'' and then ``Publications.''
According to Suh, English teachers at private institutes make up the biggest part of foreign taxpayers who place inquiries at the tax office. He said the tax guide will be distributed to the association of foreign language institutes so that they can be readily available for English teachers.
The tax office plans to expand the consultation service to other foreign languages in the future.
[email protected] |
|
|
ttompatz
Joined: 05 Sep 2005
Location: Kwangju, South Korea
|
| Posted: Tue Jul 15, 2008 7:36 pm Post subject: Re: Korean Tax Consultation Service for Foreigners Expanded |
|
|
| Quote: |
| According to Suh, English teachers at private institutes make up the biggest part of foreign taxpayers who place inquiries at the tax office. He said the tax guide will be distributed to the association of foreign language institutes so that they can be readily available for English teachers. |
This is a pipe dream. Do they honestly think that the hakwon associations are going to give information about their illegal taxation activities to the teachers they are cheating?
It is a good thing however that they (the tax office) are intending to provide services we (foreigners) can actually access. It is certainly a step in the right direction. n
Now they just need staff who actually know and understand the tax laws as they pertain to foreigners (as well as speak English) AND are prepared to enforce those laws against cheating employers.
. |
|
FAQ
Search
Memberlist
Usergroups
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in
