Busan Gijang County to File Criminal Charges Against Local Income Tax Special Collection Violators

"We Will Continue to Take Strong Legal Action Against Deliberate Tax Evasion"

Gijang-gun, Busan (Governor Jung Jongbok), will pursue criminal charges against businesses that fail to fulfill their local income tax special withholding obligations without justifiable reasons.

The local income tax special withholding system requires withholding agents under the "Income Tax Act," etc., to report and pay 10% of the withheld income or corporate tax as local income tax to the local government with jurisdiction over the business location.

In January, the "38 Tax Collection Task Force" was launched to strengthen the response to large and habitual tax delinquents. As the county began a full-scale investigation into major tax delinquents, the need for investigations into local tax offenses has been raised.

Accordingly, the county plans to actively investigate local tax offenses for delinquents suspected of malicious tax evasion and to take strong legal action. The county will send advance notice of criminal charges to delinquents to urge voluntary payment, and if the delinquent fails to pay the overdue taxes or cannot provide a valid reason, the county will file a criminal complaint with the local police station.

Governor Jung Jongbok stated, "To foster a culture of faithful tax payment and secure sound local finances, we will hold those who deliberately evade taxes fully accountable according to the law and principles," adding, "We will continue to take strict legal action against local tax delinquents along with rigorous delinquency dispositions."

This investigation into tax offenses is based on Article 107 (Failure to Withhold Special Collection) and Article 19 (Dual Liability) of the Local Tax Basic Act.

If a withholding agent fails to collect local taxes without justifiable reason, a fine of up to 10 million KRW may be imposed. If the collected tax is not paid without justifiable reason, imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million KRW may be imposed. Company representatives and others may also be held responsible and punished accordingly.