Over 100 Trillion Won in National Tax Arrears... Gangnam, the 'Wealthy Neighborhood,' Has the Highest Amount

National Tax Service Releases 2022 Tax Statistics
Total Tax Revenue 384.2 Trillion Won...15% Increase
2022 Tax Arrears 103 Trillion Won...87 Trillion Difficult to Collect

As of last year, the amount of taxes unpaid to the National Tax Service (NTS) reached 103 trillion won. Of this, about 87 trillion won, accounting for 85%, is considered unlikely to be collected.

According to the '2022 Delinquent Taxes and Tax Revenue National Tax Statistics' released by the NTS on the 31st, the cumulative national tax delinquency as of the end of 2022 was 102.5 trillion won, an increase of 2.6% (2.6 trillion won) compared to 2021 (99.9 trillion won), the first year the data was made public.

The NTS manages delinquent amounts by assessing collectability based on income and business continuity. The 'under collection' delinquent amount, which has a high likelihood of collection, was 15.6 trillion won, up 4.1 trillion won from the previous year. Conversely, the 'collection on hold' delinquent amount, which has a low likelihood of collection, was 86.9 trillion won, down 1.5 trillion won.

An NTS official explained, "The under collection delinquent amounts are being intensively managed through continuous collection activities throughout the year, such as asset sales and seizures," adding, "For collection on hold cases, we monitor quarterly and switch to under collection status to pursue collection if income is detected."

The tax item with the largest share of cumulative delinquent amounts was value-added tax (VAT) at 27.9 trillion won, accounting for 36.0%. This was followed by income tax at 23.8 trillion won (30.8%), capital gains tax at 12 trillion won (15.5%), and corporate tax at 9.2 trillion won (11.9%).

Among the top five tax offices with the highest cumulative delinquent amounts, all except Yongin were located in Seoul. The tax office with the largest delinquency was Gangnam Tax Office, which oversees Seoul’s Sinsa, Nonhyeon, Apgujeong, and Cheongdam neighborhoods, with 2.3042 trillion won uncollected.

Last year, the NTS tax revenue was 384.2 trillion won, an increase of 14.9% (49.7 trillion won) from the previous year (334.5 trillion won) due to improved corporate performance and increased consumption. Corporate tax rose 47.1% from 70.4 trillion won in 2021 to 103.6 trillion won. Income tax amounted to 128.7 trillion won, and VAT was 81.6 trillion won (21.2%).

Total national tax revenue consists of NTS tax revenue, customs duties, and the special rural tax portion of customs and local taxes, with NTS tax revenue accounting for 97% of the total.

Among 133 tax offices nationwide, Namdaemun Tax Office collected the most revenue, amounting to 20.1 trillion won. Namdaemun Tax Office has a high proportion of corporate tax (12.1 trillion won, 60.1%).

Additionally, tax deferral performance for taxpayers in special disaster areas affected by COVID-19, East Coast wildfires, and heavy rains, including extensions of payment deadlines, amounted to 3.44 million cases and 19.3 trillion won, similar to last year's figures. Furthermore, the earned income tax credit for the first half of 2022 was paid to 1.15 million households totaling 502.1 billion won, an increase of 2.7% (30,000 households) in the number of households and 1.4% (6.8 billion won) in payment amount compared to 2021.