The Fired-Up Tax Tech Market... Toss and Finda Successively Throw Down the Gauntlet

Toss Acquires Tax Tech Company to Launch Service
Finda Targets Tax Refund Market with MOU
SSAM and SamzzumSam Respond by Enhancing Benefits

As the month for filing comprehensive income tax returns in May approaches, the "Tax Tech" industry (a combination of tax and technology) is bustling. With fintech companies like Toss and Finda challenging the 10 trillion won tax refund market, existing companies are responding by improving services and enhancing user benefits.

According to the financial industry on the 25th, Viva Republica, the operator of Toss, launched the tax refund service "Finding Hidden Refunds" in a partnership format the day before. The partner company is Taxassoft, which operates the tax platform "Saveit." Toss announced on the 1st that it decided on a third-party allotment paid-in capital increase to acquire Taxassoft and signed the main acquisition contract on the 19th. After paying 18 billion won in purchase price on the 2nd of next month, it is expected that other tax services of Saveit, such as comprehensive income tax filing, value-added tax filing, and year-end tax settlement preview, will also be provided through the Toss application.

A Toss representative said, "Tax matters are essential in financial life but are difficult and complex for individuals to handle," adding, "We will collaborate with Saveit, which has sufficient expertise, to provide a more advanced service. We will complete the remaining acquisition process well."

Loan brokerage fintech company Finda signed a strategic business agreement (MOU) with tax automation startup G Enterprise on the 23rd to target the tax refund market. G Enterprise operates tax services such as "BizNep Refund," a tax refund service for individual business owners and corporations. Through this cooperation, Finda plans to strengthen its tax services by offering BizNep Refund and others through its app. The two companies will also hold a joint promotion to commemorate this collaboration. Among individual business users, the first 2,000 applicants will be offered comprehensive income tax filing services worth 200,000 won at a 50% discounted price.

Park Hong-min, co-CEO of Finda, said, "The tax refund market, estimated at about 10 trillion won based on refund amounts and 3 trillion won based on fees, is growing as the proportion of freelancers and individual business owners, including 'N-jobbers,' increases," adding, "We will further strengthen our position as a fintech company that addresses all the pain points of business owners."

SSEM and SamzzumSam, which have led the Tax Tech market, are responding to the entry of Toss and Finda by improving services or enhancing user benefits. SSEM, a simple tax filing app specializing in individual business owners, launched a "calculator function" on the 1st that allows users to estimate their comprehensive income tax in advance. It also operates a service called "Safe Filing Plus," which compensates users for damages if tax filings are incorrect due to user errors. Additionally, it plans to launch new services that allow individual business owners to receive tax-saving benefits when filing comprehensive income tax.

Javis & Villains, the operator of SamzzumSam, released the "May with SamzzumSam" brand film featuring singer Yoon Jong-shin on the 23rd to raise awareness of the importance of regular comprehensive income tax filing. From this year, the service target has been expanded to include not only freelancers and part-time workers but also office workers, self-employed individuals, and pension beneficiaries. Furthermore, ahead of the May comprehensive income tax filing period, SamzzumSam held a "1 million won Money Cushion Event." Users who apply for comprehensive income tax filing notifications through the app by the 30th will be entered into a draw where three winners will receive a money cushion worth 1 million won in cash, and 100 winners will receive a 10,000 won Shinsegae gift certificate.

However, concerns have been raised about side effects caused by overheating in the tax refund market. Last year, SamzzumSam's sales growth rate was only in the 2% range, and its KOSDAQ listing was finally thwarted last month. Conflicts with the Korea Association of Tax Accountants are also cited as challenges the industry must resolve. The Tax Accountants Association has viewed Tax Tech companies like SamzzumSam as illegal and has obstructed their operations through police reports and submission of petitions.