Ahead of July Property Tax Notices, 3,900 Non-Recipients of Electronic Notices Receive Texts to Update Phone Numbers and Emails
Former 'Gangnam-gu Property Tax Division' Opens KakaoTalk Channel to Assist with Direct Information Updates via Chat
Gangnam-gu (District Mayor Jo Seong-myeong) has taken the lead nationwide to correct errors in electronic notification delivery.
Currently, many local governments use KakaoTalk notification services to inform about the issuance of delinquent tax notices, and Gangnam-gu plans to utilize this service to solve the chronic problem of updating personal information (phone numbers, email addresses) in electronic notifications.
Electronic notification has been implemented for 18 years since the related regulations were established on December 30, 2006. For electronic notification delivery, accurate phone numbers and email addresses are required, but many outdated phone numbers starting with 016, 018, etc., still remain in the system. When taxpayers change their phone numbers or emails after applying for electronic notification, they must visit the tax office in person or update their information via phone, fax, or ETAX. However, many are unaware of this procedure, leading to an increasing number of electronic notification errors each year.
As of 2023, 64,000 people (20.1%) applied for electronic notification of property tax in Gangnam-gu, but 3,900 (6.1%) did not receive the notifications properly. If the notification is not delivered and taxes are not paid by the deadline, taxpayers face additional penalties, causing inconvenience. The district treats undelivered notifications as returns and reissues paper notices to the addresses. Despite applying for electronic notification, paper notices must be sent, resulting in wasted administrative effort and delivery costs.
To solve this problem, the district decided to utilize the KakaoTalk service. This system can send notification messages via KakaoTalk using a personal identification key without knowing the recipient’s phone number, and it is already being used for delinquency notifications. Ahead of the July property tax notice, on June 20, the district sent alert messages via KakaoTalk to 3,900 undelivered electronic notification recipients to update their information. Recipients can directly update their information by accessing ETAX.
The district went a step further by launching the ‘Gangnam-gu Office Property Tax Division’ KakaoTalk channel to make it easier for residents to update their personal information. When recipients send the necessary personal information (name, date of birth, contact number, email) via KakaoTalk, officials directly update the information, enhancing convenience. By correcting personal information errors in the largest local tax category, property tax, the district expects to improve the overall tax notification delivery rate.
Jo Seong-myeong, Mayor of Gangnam-gu, stated, “This method is a significant advancement since introducing KakaoTalk notification services in tax administration and was selected as an exemplary case at the 2024 Seoul City and District Joint Revenue Collection Strategy Meeting in the first half of the year. We will continue to provide proactive, taxpayer-centered services.”
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