Over 3,000 Capital Gains Tax Inquiries Submitted to the National Tax Service Last Year... 84% Increase Compared to the Previous Year

As Government Policy Changes Increase, Tax Law Complexity Leads to Surge in Inquiries
Response Rate Remains at 4.5%...Improved to 8.1% This Year

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] It has been revealed that over 3,000 written inquiries related to capital gains tax were submitted to the National Tax Service (NTS) last year. As the government repeatedly strengthened regulations and the system became more complex, the number of cases asking the NTS about the applicable tax laws for individual cases surged.

According to data received from the NTS by the office of Choo Kyung-ho, a member of the National Assembly's Planning and Finance Committee from the People Power Party, the number of written inquiries on capital gains tax submitted to the NTS last year was 3,243, an 83.9% increase compared to the previous year (2019: 1,763 cases). Previously, written inquiries related to capital gains tax had remained at around 1,000 cases annually, with 1,040 in 2016, 1,056 in 2017, and 1,779 in 2018. However, as of June this year, 2,863 cases had already been submitted, suggesting that the total number of inquiries by the end of the year will exceed last year's figures.

Written inquiries are a method used by taxpayers to request the NTS to interpret ambiguous parts of the tax law. The number of capital gains tax inquiries is noticeably higher compared to other tax categories. Last year, there were 679 written inquiries on value-added tax and 441 on inheritance and gift tax. Written inquiries on corporate tax and income tax were 440 and 415 respectively, while inquiries on comprehensive real estate holding tax numbered 208.

On the other hand, the response rate slightly decreased compared to the previous year. Out of the 3,243 capital gains tax written inquiries last year, only 147 were responded to, resulting in a response rate of 4.5%, down from 5.3% (94 cases) in 2019. However, as of June this year, 8.1% (231 cases) of the 2,863 inquiries received had been answered, indicating some improvement in the response rate.

The average response time for capital gains tax written inquiries was 131 days last year, shorter than the 151 days in 2019. As of June this year, the average response time further decreased to 57 days. The longest response time last year was 643 days, the longest since 2016. As of June this year, the maximum response time was 545 days.

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