[Tax Story] What We Should Learn About Taxes from the Olympics

Professor Ahn Chang-nam, Taxation, Kangnam University

The sight of the new generation competing under fair and just rules at the Olympic stadium brought fresh joy to the world suffering from the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. This is possible because sports are an international language. The Olympic spirit is not about 'winning at all costs' but about accumulating the capacity to build a peaceful and better world through friendly competition based on friendship, solidarity, and fair play. This is why we cheer and applaud even the beautiful last place or the brilliant fourth place, which is no less than a gold medal.

I believe the source of the freshness and clarity that the Tokyo Olympics gave to the general public is 'expertise.' The competition among experts is decided by a margin as thin as a single perilla leaf. Most athletes have honed their skills for over ten years since elementary school and are selected through fierce competition. Watching their games is like watching a seamless, flowing group dance. There is no room for amateurs (this is on a completely different level from fields like politics where unqualified people meddle).

The games proceed according to fair rules. The act of athletes taking or injecting banned substances (doping) to improve their records is strictly prohibited. Russia, which violated this at the national level, had its athletes compete under the name Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) instead of Russia, and at the award ceremony, they had to listen to a part of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 instead of their national anthem.

Athlete training and selection are conducted fairly. Archery, which selects representatives solely based on performance and achieves good results, is a good example. There is no place for the chronic social evils of Korea such as school ties, regionalism, or blood ties. The arrows that made us nervous from Japanese archery were made by a domestic company. They do not sell these products to their competitor Japan? This is a nationalist attitude far from the Olympic spirit. In this regard, Japan's restriction on semiconductor material and parts exports to Korea is a petty act that violates international business ethics and common sense.

Tax audits, especially those involving large corporations and multinational companies, require a high degree of expertise. Tax officials must have knowledge not only of tax law but also accounting, commercial law, civil law, and foreign language skills. Only then can they win in the tax competition between countries. Large corporations and foreign companies facing tax officials in the ring of tax audits are supported by outstanding domestic and international experts such as lawyers. They sometimes use weapons like falsifying evidence, illegal lobbying, and preferential treatment of former officials to reduce taxes.

Tax officials facing them have only a tax law book at hand. This is why complaints about unfair audits arise and there are many cases of losing lawsuits. It is necessary to strengthen professional personnel by specially hiring excellent tax accountants and others in the field of tax audits. The rules of the game surrounding tax audits must be fair. Honest taxpayers should be protected, but tax evaders and tax facilitators should be punished as severely as Russia was shamed in the Olympics.

Viewing honest and dishonest taxpayers by the same standard or discriminating against foreign companies by imposing heavier tax burdens than domestic companies violates fairness and reveals the immaturity of our society. If we apply the Olympic standards of expertise, fairness, and justice to the ring of tax audits, can we say 'yes'? Taxes are a core element supporting the Olympic spirit of building a peaceful world, and thus must be changed and improved more fiercely. Insights detached from practice have no real effect.

Changnam Ahn, Professor of Taxation, Kangnam University

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