Nationwide Top Tax Revenue 'Namdaemun Tax Office'... "Many Financial Institutions with Large Corporate Tax Shares Located"

328.4 Trillion KRW Collected Last Year... Down 7.3 Trillion KRW from Previous Year
Namdaemun Tax Office 18.1 Trillion KRW, Suyeong Tax Office 15.5 Trillion KRW, Yeongdeungpo Tax Office 13.8 Trillion KRW
Value-Added Tax Leads in Tax Arrears

Namdaemun Tax Office, home to many large financial institutions, was found to have collected the highest tax revenue nationwide last year.

According to the National Tax Service (NTS) on the 28th, the tax revenue under the jurisdiction of the NTS in 2024 amounted to 328.4 trillion KRW, a 2.1% (7.3 trillion KRW) decrease compared to the previous year (335.7 trillion KRW).

By region, Seoul accounted for 115.4 trillion KRW, representing 35.1% of the total. This was followed by Gyeonggi Province with 50.6 trillion KRW (15.4%) and Busan with 23.9 trillion KRW (7.3%). Looking at the tax revenue composition by tax type in each region, the Seoul and Gyeonggi areas showed a high proportion of income tax (46.5% and 51.9%, respectively), while Busan had a higher proportion of corporate tax (33.0%).

Among the 133 tax offices nationwide in 2024, Namdaemun Tax Office collected the most revenue at 18.1 trillion KRW. It was followed by Suyeong Tax Office (15.5 trillion KRW) and Yeongdeungpo Tax Office (13.8 trillion KRW). Namdaemun and Yeongdeungpo Tax Offices oversee financial institutions with a high proportion of corporate tax, while Suyeong Tax Office has jurisdiction over the Korea Securities Depository, which has a high proportion of securities transaction tax. Bundang Tax Office had a large share of corporate tax from IT-related companies, and Ulsan Tax Office had a significant proportion of transportation, energy, and environment tax from petroleum and chemical companies.

Top 5 Tax Revenues in 2024 and Status of Leading Tax Offices by Region.

By tax type, the tax revenue was as follows: income tax 117.4 trillion KRW (35.8%), value-added tax 82.2 trillion KRW (25.0%), corporate tax 62.5 trillion KRW (19.0%), and inheritance and gift tax 15.3 trillion KRW (4.7%).

The total cost of tax collection was 1.9 trillion KRW, with a tax collection cost of 0.59 KRW per 100 KRW of revenue. A National Tax Service official explained, "Compared to the increase in tax revenue, the NTS budget has increased only slightly, resulting in an overall decrease in tax collection costs," adding, "The tax revenue per NTS employee is 16 billion KRW, a 79.1% increase compared to 9 billion KRW in 2010."

As of the end of last year, the "tax arrears under settlement," which are highly likely to be collected and are undergoing related procedures, amounted to 19.4 trillion KRW, an increase of 1.7 trillion KRW (9.6%) from the previous year (17.7 trillion KRW). The amount of cash collected from tax arrears was 12.1 trillion KRW, up 400 billion KRW (3.4 trillion KRW) from 11.7 trillion KRW the previous year. By tax type, the national tax arrears under settlement were value-added tax 8.4 trillion KRW (43.5%), income tax 4 trillion KRW (20.8%), and corporate tax 2.1 trillion KRW (11.0%).

Examining the national tax arrears under settlement by tax type and industry, value-added tax (8.4 trillion KRW) was highest in construction (2.2 trillion KRW), manufacturing (1.7 trillion KRW), and wholesale trade (800 billion KRW), while corporate tax (2.1 trillion KRW) was highest in real estate sales (500 billion KRW), construction (400 billion KRW), and manufacturing (200 billion KRW).

Last year, the number of hidden asset reports was 1,855, resulting in tax collection of 13 billion KRW. The number of reward payments was 20 cases, totaling 900 million KRW. Reward payments are made when tax arrears exceeding 50 million KRW are collected due to hidden asset reports.

In 2024, tax deferral measures such as payment deadline extensions, mainly for small and micro businesses facing difficulties due to disasters and accidents, amounted to 1.281 million cases and 16.5 trillion KRW, similar to the previous year (1.145 million cases and 17.7 trillion KRW). By type, deadline extensions for declared taxes were 968,000 cases (11.2 trillion KRW), for assessed taxes 269,000 cases (4.8 trillion KRW), and deferrals of seizure and sale 44,000 cases (500 billion KRW).