Seoul's First Foreign Language Tax Bill Production and Delivery, New Collection Model with Text Message Notifications
66% Decrease in Delinquent Foreign Resident Tax (Individual), 1052% Collection Effect Compared to Korean Notices
Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul (Mayor Lee Pil-hyung) operated a ‘Special Collection Period for Foreigners’ Local Tax Delinquencies’ from November last year to February this year targeting foreigners who have defaulted on local taxes, specifically the resident tax (individual portion).
According to the Immigration Control Act, foreigners who register and reside in Korea for more than one year must pay the resident tax (individual portion) every August, just like Korean nationals.
As of July last year, about 21,000 foreigners were registered in Dongdaemun-gu. Due to the district’s characteristics with many universities such as Kyung Hee University and Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and a large number of foreign students, the number of registered foreigners and foreign tax delinquents has increased annually.
The district identified the increase in foreign tax delinquents as due to a lack of awareness of tax obligations caused by language barriers. Accordingly, it prepared customized delinquency collection measures and operated a special collection period for foreign delinquents for about 100 days starting November last year.
To assist foreigners struggling with tax payments due to poor Korean skills, Dongdaemun-gu became the first in Seoul to produce customized delinquency notices in Korean, English, and Chinese. These notices were sent en masse to delinquents in November, and additional delinquency guidance messages in foreign languages were sent in February to those who had not paid.
As a result, the number of foreign resident tax delinquents dropped sharply by 66%, from 4,272 to 1,452, and approximately 9.98 million KRW in delinquent taxes was collected.
An official from the district’s tax department said, “By providing unfamiliar local tax delinquency information to foreigners in three languages?Korean, English, and Chinese?and simultaneously informing them of disadvantages such as visa extension restrictions in case of delinquency, we raised awareness among foreigners about tax delinquency and achieved a collection effect 1052% higher than that of general delinquency notices.”
In fact, one delinquent who received the customized foreigner delinquency notice said, “I was unaware of the tax delinquency, but since the notice was provided in my native language, it was easy to understand the contents, and I was able to pay the tax immediately.”
Lee Pil-hyung, Mayor of Dongdaemun-gu, stated, “We will continue to promote various taxpayer convenience policies for foreigners who face difficulties in paying taxes due to language barriers and lack of information. At the same time, we will raise awareness that foreigners are not exempt from tax obligations and prepare improvement measures to minimize delinquencies.”
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