Why Did Nowon Resident Mr. A Consult About Taxes After Work?

[Seoul District News] Nowon-gu to Operate Night Tax Consultation Office Every Wednesday 6-8 PM from June... Seocho-gu Urges Claiming 270 Million KRW in Unclaimed Local Taxes... Yangcheon-gu Recruiting Participants for Public-Private Job Training for Middle-Aged Retirement Life Until 30th

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Nowon-gu announced that starting in June, it will operate a ‘Nighttime Tax Consultation Civil Service Office’ every Wednesday from 6 PM to 8 PM.

The nighttime tax consultation civil service office was established to alleviate the inconvenience of workers and others who find it difficult to visit public institutions during weekday daytime hours. Although there was continuous demand from residents wanting consultations with tax experts, the service had been suspended due to the spread of COVID-19 and is now being resumed.

Especially this year, the number of local tax accountants participating in talent donation has been increased from 10 to 17, enabling support for tax consultations to a larger number of residents. This reflects the high satisfaction and demand from residents based on last year’s operation of the nighttime tax consultation office.

The nighttime consultations take place at the Civil Service Office of Tax Departments 1 and 2 on the 2nd floor of Nowon-gu Office. Consultation areas include local taxes such as acquisition tax, property tax, local income tax, and local tax delinquency disposition, as well as national taxes such as capital gains tax, inheritance tax, gift tax, and comprehensive income tax.

Since there were many inquiries about national taxes last year, the number of tax accountants volunteering to handle national tax consultations has been increased to two, who will work alongside three tax department staff members at the district office.

The nighttime consultation office operates by prior reservation. Up to 12 people can make reservations each week, with face-to-face consultations lasting about 20 minutes per person. Reservations can be made on the Nowon-gu Office website.

From June 2 last year to January 5 this year, a total of 258 people received free consultations at the nighttime tax consultation civil service office. Of these, 240 people (93%) received consultations related to national taxes, and 18 people (7%) were related to local taxes.

The most common consultation topic was capital gains tax (164 people), followed by gift tax (43 people), comprehensive real estate tax (18 people), and inheritance tax (13 people). For local taxes, acquisition tax consultations (16 people) accounted for the largest proportion.

For example, Mr. A, who received consultation on capital gains tax, expressed gratitude, saying he was anxious because he could not verify the accuracy of knowledge obtained online, but after meeting a tax accountant in person, he was able to make the right decision.

Mr. B, who received tax consultation related to rental business, also expressed satisfaction, saying that without the consultation, he would not have known about tax-saving opportunities and that the consultation was a great help.

In addition, the district operates various systems to assist taxpayers who face difficulties due to lack of specialized knowledge about complex tax administration or financial issues.

These include the ‘Selected Agent’ system that helps low-income taxpayers with local tax appeals, the ‘Taxpayer Protection Officer’ who assists with grievances from the taxpayer’s perspective, and the ‘Village Tax Accountant’ system where designated tax accountants in each neighborhood provide free tax consultations.

A district official said, “We have established the nighttime consultation office to resolve tax-related questions that are unfamiliar and difficult for the general public,” adding, “We will continue to strive to provide tax administration services that are closer and easier from the residents’ perspective.”

Seocho-gu announced that it will operate the ‘Local Tax Unclaimed Refunds Comprehensive Cleanup Period’ until the end of this month to return local tax refunds that taxpayers have not claimed.

As of the end of April this year, the district’s local tax unclaimed refunds amount to about 2,980 cases totaling approximately 270 million KRW.

By tax category, local income tax accounts for 1,318 cases with about 172 million KRW (63.5%), automobile tax for 1,568 cases with about 90 million KRW (33.6%), and acquisition tax and property tax for 87 cases with about 9 million KRW (2.9%). Local income tax and automobile tax together make up 97.1% of the total unclaimed amount.

By amount, small unclaimed refunds under 10,000 KRW account for about 1,450 cases (50%), the largest number, while unclaimed amounts exceeding 1 million KRW total 35 cases, about 100 million KRW, representing the highest proportion at 38.8% of the total. Among these, the largest unclaimed amount per case was about 17 million KRW for corporate local income tax.

Local tax unclaimed refunds occur annually due to reasons such as national tax corrections, ownership transfers or vehicle scrapping after automobile tax prepayment, double payments, and erroneous reports. During the cleanup period, the district is making various efforts such as sending refund notices by mail, public alert text messages, and online and offline promotions to promptly return unclaimed refunds to taxpayers.

To promote refunds more actively, the district is implementing differentiated refund procedures by tax category. Noting that local income tax (1,318 cases) and automobile tax (1,568 cases) account for about 90% of total cases, local income tax refunds are processed through the tax office refund account, and automobile tax refunds through the prepayment application account.

Additionally, the district operates the KakaoTalk channel ‘Seocho-gu Local Tax Refund’ to allow residents to conveniently request refunds from home. To use it, add ‘Seocho-gu Local Tax Refund’ as a friend on KakaoTalk and send the refund number, name, bank name, and account number via KakaoTalk for easy application. Refund inquiries and applications can also be made online via Seoul ETAX, Wetax, Government24, or through an automated phone system.

Along with refund notifications, the district also sends donation information to taxpayers. Taxpayers wishing to donate can apply via KakaoTalk or ETAX to donate to the Community Chest of Korea (Fruit of Love), receiving donation receipts and year-end tax deduction benefits.

The refund claim period is within five years from the refund decision date.

Choi Bu-cheon, head of the Tax Management Division, said, “If local tax refunds are not claimed within five years, the right to refund expires, so we ask taxpayers to actively exercise their rights by receiving refunds or using the donation system,” adding, “We will continue to work hard to protect taxpayers’ rights and provide trustworthy tax administration by actively returning local tax unclaimed refunds to taxpayers.”

Yangcheon-gu is recruiting participants for the ‘Happy Job Go’ project, aimed at helping middle-aged and older adults prepare wisely for a fulfilling retirement, until the 30th of this month.

This project is a public-private cooperative initiative involving Yangcheon-gu, Yangcheon Senior Club, and Yangcheon 50 Plus Center. It seeks to discover Yangcheon-style public job items and secure pathways for participation in jobs for the new middle-aged and elderly through specialized training courses for participants.

Yangcheon Senior Club offers courses such as ▲Forest, Ecology, and Environment Educator and ▲Well-being Healthy Food Cook. Yangcheon 50 Plus Center offers courses such as ▲Coding Instructor (Big Data Analysis and AI Education Guidance) training and ▲Flower Tea Sommelier Instructor training (photo).

The Forest, Ecology, and Environment Educator course targets those interested in the field who can participate in childcare and educational institutions after completing specialized training. After completing the 36-hour forest, ecology, and environment education course and eight sessions of educator activity practice, participants can engage in senior jobs.

The Well-being Healthy Food Cook course targets those interested in healthy food cooking and sales who can practice and work at related stores after completing specialized training. The course includes 30 hours of healthy food cooking education, cooking practice, and dispatch activities to stores (total of eight sessions).

The Coding Instructor (Big Data Analysis and AI Education Guidance) training course prefers those with intermediate or higher computer skills, a strong understanding of the 4th industrial revolution, and prior experience as instructors in related fields.

Main courses include ▲Computational Thinking ▲Python Programming ▲Public Data Analysis and Visualization ▲Lesson Plan Preparation and Customized Program Development ▲Practical Activities (Lecture Delivery).

The Flower Tea Sommelier course prioritizes holders of flower tea certificates or those with caf? operation experience. The course includes ▲Flower Beverage (Caf? Menu) Development ▲Handmade Syrup Production and Utilization ▲Practical Activities (Caf? Practice).

The ‘Happy Job Go’ project targets residents aged 54 to 64 who wish to participate in jobs and contribute to the local community. The district plans to select about 80 participants considering their career, experience, and the concreteness of future utilization plans.

The application period is until the 30th of this month. After document screening, interviews, and final selection by early next month, specialized training for job placement will begin in earnest from June 13.

Residents wishing to participate in the ‘Happy Job Go’ project can download the relevant forms from the district office website’s announcements, fill them out, and submit them via email to the respective institution’s contact person. For more details about the program, contact Yangcheon Senior Club or Yangcheon 50 Plus Center.