'Paying taxes and also bearing card fees...'…Kang Byung-won "1.1678 trillion won in national tax payment card fees over 10 years"

Analysis of "Annual Payment Agency Fees for National Tax Card Payments" by Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute
Annual Increase in Card Payment Fees

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] There have been criticisms that the National Tax Service is passing on the fees incurred when paying taxes by card to taxpayers. Considering the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act, which prohibits discrimination between card and cash payments, imposing additional fee burdens on taxpayers who pay by card is a violation.

According to the ‘Annual Payment Agency Fees for National Tax Card Payments’ disclosed by Kang Byung-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 13th, the fees incurred from card payments of national taxes over the past 10 years (2012?2021) amounted to a total of 1.1678 trillion KRW. Kang’s office pointed out, "This entire amount is borne by the taxpayers," adding, "Citizens have been paying fees on top of their taxes." The card payment fees showed an increasing trend each year: 80 billion KRW in 2018, 87 billion KRW in 2019, 107 billion KRW in 2020, and 125 billion KRW in 2021.

Under the current system, when paying national taxes such as comprehensive real estate tax and inheritance tax by card, taxpayers are required to bear a fee of up to 0.8%. Kang’s office explained, "If you pay 3 million KRW in national tax by credit card, you have to pay an additional 24,000 KRW in fees; if you pay 5 million KRW, you have to pay an additional 40,000 KRW in fees."

Kang believes that this system violates current laws. According to the Specialized Credit Finance Business Act, differential treatment between card payments and cash payments is fundamentally prohibited, and it stipulates that ‘credit card merchants shall not impose merchant fees on credit card members.’

Kang Byung-won, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 2nd and delivering a general speech. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Regarding this, Kang emphasized, "While government agencies are shirking responsibility, the burden is being fully passed on to the public and small business owners. Prompt improvement of laws and systems is urgently needed."

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