Korea Federation of SMEs Holds Meeting with Kim Chang-gi, Commissioner of National Tax Service... Proposes Tax Administration Support Tasks

"Prestigious Long-Established Companies, Request for 1-Year Tax Audit Postponement"
Kim Gi-mun "Let's Establish Communication Channels Between the Two Agencies"

The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (Kbiz) announced on the 18th that it held a "Meeting with Kim Chang-gi, Commissioner of the National Tax Service (NTS), and the SME Sector" at the Kbiz headquarters in Yeouido.

The meeting was attended by about 20 people, including Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of Kbiz; Yoon Geon-su, Chairman of the Korea Venture Capital Association; Seok Yong-chan, Chairman of the Korea Management Innovation SME Association; Bae Jo-ung, Chairman of the Korea Ready-Mixed Concrete Industry Cooperative Federation; Shim Seung-il, Chairman of the Korea High-Pressure Gas Industry Cooperative Federation; as well as directors from the National Tax Service.

Kim Chang-gi, Commissioner of the National Tax Service, is delivering a greeting at the 2023 National Tax Administration Forum held on the 15th at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The SME sector proposed 18 tax support tasks for SMEs, including the revision of interpretations related to non-operating assets in business succession support tax systems and preferential tax support for prestigious long-established SMEs.

Jung Han-sung, Director of the Korea Fastener Industry Cooperative, said, "The prestigious long-established company verification system operated by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and Kbiz evaluates and certifies companies with over 45 years of business history that excel in tax payment records, employment, research and development, and social contribution." He added, "Certified SMEs receive additional points when participating in Ministry of SMEs projects, but from the perspective of spreading a culture of respected companies, we ask the National Tax Service to additionally postpone tax audits for these companies for about one year."

Shim Seung-il, Chairman of the High-Pressure Gas Federation, explained, "Non-operating assets, which are judged to be unrelated to business, cannot receive tax support. Since there are various interpretations by the National Tax Service, the Tax Tribunal, and the courts, it would be more helpful to revise these interpretations and guide succession companies accordingly."

Kim Hyo-jin, Executive Director of Dongil Electric Wire, said, "The tax support measures implemented by the National Tax Service, such as extension of payment deadlines and early refund payments, have been helpful to SMEs, and continuous communication for system improvement through meetings like this is also a great support."

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of Kbiz, also said, "Kbiz conducts an annual survey on SME tax administration, and more than half of SMEs are satisfied." However, he added, "SMEs lacking tax professionals have difficulties interpreting tax laws. Kbiz proposes that the two organizations establish a communication channel allowing Kbiz to directly request tax law interpretations from the National Tax Service to support SMEs facing tax difficulties."

In response, Commissioner Kim of the National Tax Service said, "We will maintain the policy of reducing tax audits so that SMEs can focus solely on business management, expand simplified audits, and extend prior notification periods to substantially ease the burden of tax audits." He added, "We will visit business sites to listen to opinions and reflect them in tax administration so that SMEs can overcome economic crises and quickly resolve tax difficulties. We will actively operate corporate tax deductions and exemptions, business succession consulting, and pre-examination of research and development (R&D) tax credits to create a tax environment that practically benefits SMEs."

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