Ando Geol: "Retroactive Jongbu Tax Collection on Rental Housing Is Excessive Administration"

Sharp Criticism Raised During National Audit...
National Tax Service Chief Says "I Agree"
"Inadequate Rewards for Tax Evasion Reports...
System Needs Improvement"

On the 16th, at the National Assembly's audit of the National Tax Service, Ando-gul, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is asking questions. Photo by Ando-gul's office

Ando Geol, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea representing Gwangju Dongnam-eul, pointed out during the National Assembly's audit of the National Tax Service held on October 16 that the planned additional collection of the comprehensive real estate holding tax (Jongbu tax) from rental housing business operators is a serious matter, as the additional tax amounts to 1.0293 trillion won and affects approximately 52,000 households. He emphasized that this issue should not be handled merely for administrative convenience.

Assemblyman Ando especially criticized the National Tax Service for imposing the additional tax based on an internal business code, even though there is no specific "housing rental business" code, arguing that this violates the principle of clarity. He stated, "It is clearly excessive administration to retroactively impose additional taxes on rental business operators who have been recognized for exclusion from the Jongbu tax in the same manner for the past 10 years," and expressed concern that, "If additional taxes ranging from billions to hundreds of billions of won are actually imposed, it could lead to a chain of bankruptcies and situations where rental deposits cannot be returned."

He strongly urged, "Immediately halt the retroactive additional taxation, establish a new housing rental business code, and provide a sufficient guidance period so that taxpayers can make corrections and provide explanations."

In response to Assemblyman Ando's remarks, Lim Gwanghyeon, Commissioner of the National Tax Service, expressed overall agreement, stating that it is appropriate to review the matter in a way that provides relief to the public, rather than mechanically enforcing the tax law. Commissioner Lim also indicated that he intends to consult with the Ministry of Economy and Finance regarding this policy direction.

Assemblyman Ando also pointed out the issues of tax revenue shortfalls and inadequate delinquency management by the National Tax Service. He highlighted that the cumulative amount of national tax arrears exceeded 112 trillion won last year, and that the arrears of high-value delinquent taxpayers increased by 9.1% in a single year to 32.4 trillion won. He noted that while the national tax collection rate was 38.8% during the Moon Jae-in administration, it has fallen to 30% under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, indicating that delinquency management is not being properly carried out.

Assemblyman Ando commented, "The recent expansion of the AI-based tax evasion response system and the establishment of the delinquency management team by the National Tax Service are positive steps toward securing stable tax revenue." However, he also proposed, "The incentive system, including the currently ineffective tax evasion reporting rewards and budget performance bonuses, should be dramatically strengthened to improve both collection performance and tax revenue efficiency."

In response, Commissioner Lim Gwanghyeon stated, "Addressing delinquency is a core task that the National Tax Service must resolve," and added, "We will focus all our capabilities to ensure we achieve good results."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.