[Exclusive] 1,129 High-Income Tax Delinquents with Monthly Income Over 5 Million Won

In the Past 4 Years, Tax Arrears of Monthly Earners with Income Over 5 Million Won Increased by 41%
Total Tax Arrears Collection Slightly Increased

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Sehee] The number of high-value tax delinquents with a monthly income of over 5 million won has exceeded 1,100. This is because cases of deliberately avoiding tax payments despite having the ability to repay are increasing.

According to the 'Status of High-Value Local Tax Delinquents by Province' data submitted by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to Han Byung-do, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party, as of the end of last year, the number of delinquents with a monthly salary income of over 5 million won was 1,129. The total amount reached 44.327 billion won. This is a 41% increase compared to 2015 (801 people).

The amount of local tax arrears by salary earners with a monthly income of over 5 million won has also been increasing every year. The arrears, which were 36.03 billion won in 2015, increased to 34.158 billion won in 2016, 36.047 billion won in 2017, and 37.476 billion won in 2018.

Looking at the status of high-value and habitual delinquent lists disclosed by province over the past five years, Gyeonggi Province had the highest amount at 146.229 billion won, followed by Seoul (104.153 billion won) and Incheon (27.096 billion won). The top 10 were all residents of the Seoul metropolitan area, including Seoul, Incheon, and Gyeonggi. Among them, nine were found to have delinquent local income taxes.

The government introduced a system in August that allows detention of high-value habitual delinquents with local tax arrears exceeding 10 million won in detention centers, significantly strengthening delinquent management.

The collection amount of local tax arrears is showing a slight increasing trend. The collection amount, which was 962.1 billion won in 2015, exceeded 1 trillion won in 2016, and recorded 1.375 trillion won last year. Gyeonggi Province had the highest collection amount at 418.8 billion won, while Seoul collected only 247.9 billion won.

However, amid expected tax revenue shortages due to the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, there are calls for more thorough collection of arrears.

In fact, according to the local tax revenue forecast announced at the '2020 Local Strategy Meeting' in July, this year's local tax revenue is expected to be 94.9 trillion won, a 4.9% increase from last year's collection amount of 90.5 trillion won (provisional). This is 1.2 percentage points lower than the average local tax growth rate of 6.1% from 2017 to 2019.

Assemblyman Han Byung-do said, "Intensive investigations are needed for high-value habitual delinquents who conceal assets," adding, "As the growth rate of local tax revenue decreases, it is necessary to supplement this by reviewing the criteria for disclosing the list of high-value habitual delinquents." Meanwhile, in this Public Administration and Security Committee's national audit, orders regarding local finance issues and measures to secure local tax revenue are expected.

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