Public Defender Pledges Best Effort for 'Free Appeal Representation for Low-Income Taxpayers'

National Tax Service Holds Appointment Ceremony and Meeting... Expands Support to Pre-Tax Assessment Review Starting This Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] On the 21st, the National Tax Service (NTS) held a ceremony for the appointment of public defenders at the NTS headquarters in Sejong and a meeting, pledging to do their best to provide free representation for low-income taxpayers in tax appeals.

Public defenders are a system that provides free representation for tax appeals filed by low-income taxpayers below a certain threshold. First implemented in 2014, currently 273 public defenders are active across 136 tax offices nationwide.

So far, the public defender system has substantially contributed to protecting rights, as the acceptance rate of cases supported by public defenders has been high. From this year, support has been expanded to include pre-assessment review.

Tax appeals that can receive support from NTS public defenders include pre-assessment review, objection filing, and review requests. In particular, review requests are a mandatory procedure before litigation. From this year, the NTS Headquarters Tax Review Committee (responsible for review requests) has been institutionalized as a decision-making body, and the qualifications of civilian members have been strengthened, elevating its status.

Additionally, the NTS has introduced various methods of statement submission such as video testimony and video-recorded statements to fully reflect the claimant's arguments during the appeal process beyond just public defender support.

Going forward, the NTS will strive to develop the public defender system and further enhance the speed and accuracy?advantages of the NTS appeal system?to strengthen the administrative self-correction function.

Kim Hyun-joon, Commissioner of the NTS, said, "We appreciate the unpaid knowledge donation and ask that you do your best to ensure that substantial benefits reach low-income taxpayers."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.