Some attorneys argued that they should be allowed to perform "bookkeeping," a task mainly done by tax accountants, but the Constitutional Court did not accept the claim, citing a lack of specialized tax knowledge.
The Constitutional Court said on the 21st that it dismissed, in a 7-2 decision by the justices, a constitutional complaint filed by some attorneys who obtained attorney qualifications and were simultaneously granted tax accountant qualifications, challenging Article 20-2, Paragraph 2 of the Certified Tax Accountant Act.
Article 20-2, Paragraph 2 of the Certified Tax Accountant Act stipulates that attorneys granted tax accountant qualifications are not allowed to perform bookkeeping services and the duty of tax compliance verification under the Income Tax Act, unlike general tax accountants who passed the certified tax accountant exam.
In the past, attorneys who passed the bar exam or the attorney exam were automatically granted tax accountant qualifications. Attorneys and tax accountants clashed over this. After the Certified Tax Accountant Act was amended, attorneys who obtained attorney qualifications from 2018 were no longer granted tax accountant qualifications. The Constitutional Court upheld the amended act in a 5-4 decision by the justices.
With the amendment to the Certified Tax Accountant Act, attorneys holding tax accountant qualifications have been barred since November 2021 from performing bookkeeping services and tax compliance verification among tax agency services.
Bookkeeping is the task in which a sole proprietor or corporation records all financial transactions—such as sales, expenditure, and payroll—to prepare financial statements including the balance sheet and income statement. When they file comprehensive income tax or corporate tax, the work of having a tax professional check whether the books and filings were prepared properly is the tax compliance verification duty.
Some attorneys filed a constitutional complaint, arguing that the provision of the Certified Tax Accountant Act that has restricted the tasks they can take on since 2021 infringes on their freedom to choose an occupation.
The Constitutional Court said that tax laws have become complex and difficult with economic development, adding, "The essential virtues that a tax accountant must possess are expertise in tax, accounting, and tax law."
It continued, "To perform tax agency services, systematic knowledge of tax law and professional accounting knowledge must underpin the work," adding, "However, the bar exam and the attorney exam do not include non-legal subjects such as accounting, and tax law is only one of the elective subjects."
It added, "The legislature's (the National Assembly's) view that attorneys holding tax accountant qualifications would have difficulty demonstrating the same level of job competence as general tax accountants is understandable."
However, Justices Kim Hyeong-du and Jeong Gye-seon dissented. They said, "Attorneys have strengths in the areas of statutory interpretation and application, and in responding to disputes, and bookkeeping is also inseparable from the interpretation and application of tax law," adding, "By defining expertise narrowly as the field of accounting knowledge, the decision overlooks the ability to interpret and apply tax law and related statutes."