The National Tax Service said on the 27th that, in cooperation with major countries overseas since July last year, it recovered 33.9 billion won in taxes from five delinquents. Among those subject to recovery was a foreign athlete who had received a high salary.
According to the National Tax Service that day, in the nine months since Administrator Lim Gwang-hyeon took office, the amount recovered through international cooperation is 10 times the recovery achieved over the 10 years since 2015 (about 3 billion won).
Among those from whom delinquent taxes were collected this time was a foreign mercenary player who had played in a domestic pro league. The player was said to have received a high salary and not paid taxes before transferring to an overseas league. In response, the National Tax Service requested an information exchange from the tax authority of the country to which the player transferred and secured details of assets, including financial accounts. The player then reportedly paid the delinquent taxes voluntarily.
A Korean national businessman was found to have not paid taxes while operating several overseas corporations that he effectively controlled under borrowed names. The National Tax Service is said to have designated the overseas corporations as secondary taxpayers, then located deposits accounts opened abroad and collected the deposit balances.
An official at the National Tax Service said, "We recently signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with tax authorities in countries including Indonesia and Australia for international cooperation," and added, "We are currently proceeding with consultations and signing procedures to conclude MOUs with several other countries, and the more countries we sign with, the more it will help in collecting delinquent taxes."