FSS Warns Small Business Owners to Beware of Illegal Companies Masquerading as 'Tax-saving Terminals'

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Hwajeong] The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) urged small business owners on the 1st to be especially cautious as illegal and tax evasion activities by unregistered companies disguised as 'tax-saving terminals' have been rampant online.

These companies, without registering with the FSS, are encouraging tax evasion among some self-employed individuals concerned about their tax burdens. In response, the FSS investigated the situation, directly confirmed the methods of illegal companies and their multi-level payment structures, and shared information on these facts and the registration status of electronic payment gateway (PG) companies with the National Tax Service (NTS), extracting 43 companies suspected of being unregistered. The FSS plans to receive the list of suspected unregistered companies from the NTS and notify investigative agencies accordingly. Additionally, the FSS intends to establish improvement measures for the overall PG industry system and strictly guide registered PG companies to fully comply with the Electronic Financial Transactions Act to establish a sound market order.

The FSS advised franchise business operators (small business owners) to avoid being misled by illegal advertisements disguised as legitimate ones using names such as 'tax-saving terminal' or 'PG terminal.'

First, since illegal companies sometimes falsely advertise that they are registered with the Financial Supervisory Service, it is necessary to accurately identify the contracted company name and verify whether the company is a registered PG company under the Electronic Financial Transactions Act.

Also, illegal companies promote the possibility of tax savings while embezzling high fees, so if companies demand excessive fees, it is necessary to check whether they are illegal companies.

It should also be noted that involvement in illegal activities such as violations of the Electronic Financial Transactions Act and tax evasion by illegal companies may result in disadvantages such as additional tax payments.