Seoul City Produces Tax Arrears Payment Notices in 14 Foreign Languages... 110,000 Foreign Tax Delinquents

167 Foreign Countries with Tax Delinquencies... Produced in Languages Including the United States, China, Russia, Japan, Myanmar, Mongolia, etc.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 8th that it has produced the ‘Foreigners’ Local Tax Arrears Payment Guide’ in 14 languages including English, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Mongolian to strengthen the collection and management of overdue taxes from foreign residents. The guide is posted on the websites, blogs, and Facebook pages of 43 facilities supporting foreign residents and multicultural families, including the Seoul Global Center, to encourage payment of overdue taxes.

According to Seoul City, as of November, approximately 220,000 foreigners are registered in Seoul. Among them, 106,000 foreign residents owe taxes to the city and its 25 autonomous districts, with 170,000 overdue cases and a total outstanding amount of a staggering 17.3 billion KRW.

The nationalities of foreign tax defaulters include 167 countries such as the United States, China, Russia, Japan, Vietnam, Canada, Mongolia, Nepal, and Myanmar, representing a diverse range of countries. The largest number of overdue cases is for resident tax (individual equalization tax) with 127,000 cases, accounting for 74.5%, followed by automobile tax and property tax. In terms of overdue amounts, local income tax accounts for 10 billion KRW, representing 58.0% of the total foreign tax arrears, followed by property tax (3.5 billion KRW) and automobile tax (2.6 billion KRW).

The foreign languages used by Seoul City for promoting foreign tax arrears payment include English, Chinese, Japanese, Mongolian, Vietnamese, Arabic, Spanish, Russian, Uzbek, Thai, Filipino, Indonesian, French, and Pakistani, totaling 14 languages.

A Seoul City official stated, "We plan to produce leaflets and various promotional materials and distribute them to 43 foreigner support facilities, including the Global Center frequently visited by foreigners, immigration offices, and district civil service offices."

Meanwhile, Seoul City is actively enforcing strong tax collection activities against foreign defaulters, similar to those for domestic residents, by implementing measures such as visa extension restrictions through the ‘Local Tax Arrears Confirmation System before Visa Extension,’ requests for departure bans, and seizure of dormant insurance funds and exclusive insurance of foreign tax defaulters. Seoul plans to establish an efficient foreign tax defaulter collection system, including proposing legal amendments to related agencies.

Lee Byung-han, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Finance Bureau, said, "As our society gradually settles into a multicultural nation and the foreign resident population continues to increase, we will contribute to protecting the rights of foreigners and fostering a culture of sincere tax payment through customized payment guidance for foreigners. By conducting specialized collection activities different from those for domestic residents, we will thoroughly pursue and ensure the collection of foreign tax claims without loss."

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