Taxpayer Protection Officer Resolves 26,000 Cases Including Local Tax Support and Grievance Complaints

Protecting Taxpayers Facing Difficulties Due to COVID-19

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] # Self-employed business owner A, who operated a restaurant, applied to the Taxpayer Protection Officer for a deferral of property tax payment (1 million KRW) after experiencing financial difficulties due to COVID-19-related business hour restrictions. Considering that A was a diligent taxpayer with no local tax arrears and had been volunteering as a member of the local community, and actively cooperated with the government's social distancing measures due to COVID-19, the Taxpayer Protection Officer decided to grant a 3-month deferral of property tax collection based on Article 25 of the Local Tax Collection Act.

# Taxpayer Protection Officer B heard complaints from C Corporation, a subject of the 2020 regular tax audit, about difficulties caused by business downturn due to the COVID-19 impact. While considering solutions, B promoted a new policy allowing corporations subject to regular tax audits to choose their preferred timing for the audit through consultations with related departments. Among 25 corporations subject to regular tax audits in the jurisdiction, 15 applied for their preferred audit timing, and the tax department accepted all requests, thereby alleviating the short-term burden of tax audits.

The Taxpayer Protection Officers, who assist with difficulties in paying local taxes, handled a total of 25,914 cases last year, a 45% increase compared to 2019.

On the 31st, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that last year, local tax taxpayer protection officers took the lead in protecting taxpayer rights by actively promoting local tax support, handling grievances, and postponing tax audits for taxpayers facing economic hardships due to COVID-19.

The local tax taxpayer protection officer system was established based on amendments to the Local Tax Basic Act in 2018, which stipulated the basis for establishment, main duties, and authority. Last year, all 243 metropolitan and basic local governments nationwide completed the deployment of taxpayer protection officers, laying the foundation for institutional stabilization.

Last year, taxpayer protection officers resolved a total of 25,914 cases, an increase of 8,087 cases (45%↑) compared to 17,827 cases in 2019.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety stated that as the role of taxpayer protection officers expands, legal amendments will grant them the authority from this year to order the replacement and request disciplinary action against tax officials who commit illegal or unfair acts during tax audits.

In particular, since tax audits have a high potential to infringe on taxpayer rights, taxpayer protection officers will strengthen monitoring of the entire tax audit process.

Citizens seeking assistance from taxpayer protection officers can find and use the taxpayer protection officer of their local government through the Ministry of the Interior and Safety website, local government websites, or the government civil service call center (dial 110 without area code).

Meanwhile, last year, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety established an operation plan for taxpayer protection officers to revitalize the system, notified all local governments nationwide, and promoted activities such as revising work manuals, holding excellent case presentation contests, and publishing collections of best practices.

Additionally, at the end of last year, an excellent case presentation contest was held online, providing an opportunity to share and spread best practices among taxpayer protection officers nationwide.

Park Jae-min, Director of the Local Finance and Economy Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, “Taxpayer protection officers played a significant role last year by actively supporting taxpayers facing difficulties due to COVID-19. We will continue to strive to implement taxpayer-centered tax administration.”

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