Guri City Achieves Highest Environmental Improvement Charge Collection Rate in Gyeonggi Province
Fair Tax Administration and Proactive Governance
Driving Sustainable Environmental Policies
Guri City in Gyeonggi Province (Mayor Baek Kyunghyun) announced on September 5 that it had achieved a 60.9% collection rate for the 2024 Environmental Improvement Charge, ranking first in Gyeonggi Province.
Guri City achieved a 60.9% collection rate for the 2024 Environmental Improvement Charge, ranking first in Gyeonggi Province, and received an award for outstanding performance in Environmental Improvement Charge administration. Provided by Guri City
This figure far surpasses the national average collection rate of 29.2% and the Gyeonggi Province average of 47.2%. It is attributed to Guri City's proactive payment encouragement policies and systematic collection administration.
The Environmental Improvement Charge is an environmental tax levied on owners of diesel vehicles, except for Euro 5·6 and low-emission certified vehicles. This system requires owners of polluting vehicles to bear part of the costs for environmental improvement.
The charge is imposed twice a year, in March and September, and the collected funds are used for environmental policies such as local government projects to reduce air pollution.
To increase the collection rate, the city imposed the charge as needed on vehicles that were scrapped early or had ownership transferred, and required a certificate of full payment of the Environmental Improvement Charge to be submitted when a vehicle was deregistered, effectively preventing any delinquency. In addition, the city encouraged voluntary payment by informing citizens of payment deadlines and methods through various channels, including the city hall website and Saengsaeng News text messages.
In particular, for those with large outstanding balances, the city introduced an installment payment system to reduce financial burden while still encouraging payment. For corporate vehicles undergoing liquidation or bankruptcy procedures, the city improved administrative efficiency by writing off uncollectible charges to ensure realistic collection.
The city is using the funds secured in this way to implement air pollution reduction projects and various environmental policies that directly impact citizens' lives, creating a virtuous cycle and focusing on improving the quality of life for residents.
Mayor Baek Kyunghyun of Guri City stated, "Environmental policies that citizens can truly feel must ultimately be proven through tangible results. Achieving the top collection rate was possible thanks to fair tax administration as well as the environmental awareness and participation of our citizens."
He also emphasized, "The Environmental Improvement Charge is not just a simple tax but an important resource for citizens' health and quality of life. Moving forward, we will continue to actively pursue sustainable environmental policies that citizens can experience firsthand, based on fair and transparent tax administration."
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