Hanam City Encloses Mayor's Letter with Delinquency Notices for the First Time: "Your Taxes Shape Hanam"

Hanam City Implements Personalized Letters from the Mayor
to Encourage Voluntary Payment of Overdue Local Taxes
Applying the 'Nudge' Technique to Foster Empathy and
Promote a Healthy Tax Culture

Hanam City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Lee Hyunjae) announced on October 15 that, starting this month, it will enclose a personalized 'letter' in the mayor's name with delinquency notices for local taxes and non-tax revenues for the first time. This initiative aims to improve the collection of overdue payments and ensure stable tax revenue.

Aerial view of Hanam City Hall. Provided by Hanam City

This measure is intended to address the limitations of traditional delinquency notices, which have proven insufficient in encouraging payment, and to directly convey the sincerity of the administration to delinquent taxpayers.

The new letter, delivered in the mayor's name, takes the form of a personalized message that applies the 'nudge' technique to foster emotional empathy and psychological motivation among delinquent taxpayers. Hanam City plans to use this approach to encourage voluntary payment, thereby increasing the effectiveness of tax collection and promoting a healthy tax culture.

The letter emphasizes that local taxes and non-tax revenues are essential resources directly connected to citizens' daily lives, and highlights that faithful payment contributes to the development of the community.

The letter states, "To ease the burden of payment, the city offers various options such as installment plans, automatic transfers, and simple payment via internet or mobile. If you find it difficult to pay in full at once, please contact the Revenue Management Division, and we will assist you to the extent possible." It concludes with a warm message: "We will strive to ensure that the taxes you faithfully pay return as benefits to you, your family, and your neighbors."

The recipients of this letter are all individuals with overdue local taxes or non-tax revenues this year. The city finalized the list of recipients from October 1 to October 10, produced the letters from October 10 to October 14, and plans to send them all at once on October 15.

Hanam City expects this measure to enhance the persuasiveness and credibility of delinquency notices and to motivate actual payment behavior among delinquent taxpayers. In particular, by delivering the sincerity of the administration through a letter from the head of the institution, the city anticipates not only expanding its independent financial resources but also fostering a citizen-centered tax culture.

Mayor Lee Hyunjae stated, "By sending a letter in the name of the head of the institution, we hope to remind citizens of the importance of taxation and the sense of responsibility within the community, and to encourage delinquent taxpayers to decide to pay voluntarily. We will continue to pursue various administrative innovations to enhance citizen convenience and improve the efficiency of revenue management."

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