Seoul City Offers Tax Relief for 'Heavy Rain Damage Victims'... Acquisition Tax Exempted if Replacement Vehicle Purchased Within 2 Years

Postponement of Tax Audits for Corporations and Taxpayers Affected by Flood Damage
Extension of Deadlines, Collection Deferrals, and Suspension of Delinquency Measures for Local Taxes of Affected Citizens

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 18th that it is promoting tax support related to local taxes to help citizens affected by the recent record-breaking heavy rain disasters return to their daily lives as soon as possible.

Following the record-breaking heavy rain across the metropolitan area on the 8th, which caused vehicle flooding and housing damage in low-lying areas such as Dongjak-gu, Gwanak-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu, and Gangnam-gu in Seoul, the Seoul city government notified autonomous districts to actively promote tax support measures to assist affected residents.

Acquisition tax and automobile tax will be reduced when acquiring replacement property such as automobiles, machinery, and buildings that were lost or damaged due to natural disasters. In cases where automobiles, machinery, buildings, or ships are lost or damaged due to natural disasters such as heavy rain, acquisition tax is exempted when replacing these assets within two years. Additionally, for automobiles rendered unusable due to flood damage, automobile tax is exempted from the date of damage or flooding. For buildings, acquisition tax exemption is also available when constructing or repairing for restoration.

To support taxpayers affected by the heavy rain damage, extensions of deadlines, collection deferrals, and suspension of delinquent tax measures are being implemented for all local tax items. For deadline extensions, the reporting and payment deadlines for taxes such as acquisition tax are extended by six months, and if the reason for extension persists after this period, an additional six months (up to one year) extension is granted. Furthermore, for local taxes such as property tax that are assessed and notified, deferral of notification, installment notification, and collection deferral are applied within a six-month range, with an additional six months (up to one year) extension if the reason for deferral continues. Also, seizure of property or sale of seized property for delinquent taxpayers is deferred within a one-year period.

Seoul also supports the management stabilization of small and medium-sized enterprises affected by flood damage by allowing the postponement of local tax audits. Applications for local tax reductions can be submitted to the tax department of the autonomous district with jurisdiction over the registered address by obtaining a damage confirmation certificate issued by the head of the resident center in the area of residence and a total loss certificate for the automobile issued by the Korea Insurance Development Institute.

Lee Byung-han, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s Finance Bureau, stated, “We will do our best to actively implement local tax support to help victims recover their daily lives after the record-breaking heavy rain in 100 years and provide practical assistance to Seoul citizens.”